MADRID, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- A third person was on Monday confirmed to have died in Carbelleda de Avia, close to Oursense, a city in northwestern Spain, in a series of wildfires which have caused widespread destruction in the Spanish Autonomous Community of Galicia since Friday.
On Sunday, two women were confirmed to have died in the fires after their bodies were discovered in a burned-out vehicle close to the city of Pontevedra.
One hundred and five fires were confirmed by emergency services to be still active on Monday and Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy said he would visit what is his home region.
TV images showed the flames were dangerously close to the city of Vigo and the coastal town of Baiona, while several smaller villages have been evacuated as a precaution.
In Vigo, the fires destroyed several industrial warehouses and forced the evacuation of the PSA/Citroen car factory, a commercial center and a residence for university students. Spanish TV reported 100 firemen and 150 police worked throughout Sunday night to combat the flames.
Meanwhile, there are major fires close to the cities of Lugo, Oursense and Pontevedra.
It is estimated that at least 5,000 hectares of land have been destroyed in Galicia and it has been reported on Monday that there are now 35 focal points in the neighboring region of Asturias.
The high number of focal points to the fires (up to 150 over 48 hours in Galicia) implies the majority of the fires were started deliberately with the regional President Alberto Nunez Feijoo saying on Sunday the "fires are bordering on homicidal," and the Rural Environment Council talking of "clear intent," behind the numerous blazes.
Extremely dry conditions as a result of the ongoing drought and high winds from the tail end of hurricane Ophelia are helping spread the fires.
Meanwhile Feijoo's regional government recently laid off 436 firefighters who had been employed over the summer, depleting the numbers of available firemen.
Nevertheless, a total of 350 firemen, using 220 pumps and with the aid of 20 aircraft and helicopters and 160 members of the Military Emergency Response Unit were fighting a total of 17 active fires on Sunday night.
