Troops deploy to fight blaze

Soldiers on Sunday in southeastern Spain joined the battle against a major wildfire that burned for a fourth day.

The blaze in Malaga province has scorched more than 17,000 acres of forest and prompted fresh evacuations, bringing the total number of residents displaced to around 2,500.

Authorities on Sunday evacuated nearly 1,500 residents from the towns of Jubrique, Genalguacil and four other villages as a precaution. More than 1,000 other people had been evacuated before the weekend from areas around the resort town of Estepona, which is popular among tourists and foreign expatriots.

A brigade traveled from the military base of Moron, in southern Spain, to join more than 300 firefighters and 41 water-dropping aircraft battling the flames.