Spain's worst wave of wildfires on record spread to the southern slopes of the Picos de Europa mountains on Monday and prompted authorities to close part of the popular Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route.

Spain is deploying 500 more soldiers to help battle wildfires that have ravaged parched woodlands during a prolonged heat wave, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said.

VILLANUEVA DE LA SIERRA, Spain, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Spain battled 14 major fires driven by high winds and aggravated by heat on Friday as authorities warned of "unfavourable conditions" to tackle flames that have already killed seven people and burned an area the size of London.

The tradition of the siesta is no accident. Spain has been living with extreme heat for centuries, and its people have ways of coping.

Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Scientists say that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness in parts of Europe, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires.

Southern Europe is experiencing one of its worst wildfire seasons in two decades, with Spain among the hardest-hit countries.

Colleen Crowley and her family wanted more than their “sheltered” life in Montecito could offer. They packed everything into 10 suitcases, moved to Spain and have never looked back.

The key to preventing forest fires is creating a rural economy based on the use of forests. While this would generate much-needed employment in “la España vaciada” – “hollowed-out Spain”, the name given to the country’s depopulated rural areas – it also costs money. It is therefore essential to invest in forests.

By Nacho Doce and David Latona SANT ANTONI DE PORTMANY, Spain (Reuters) -It's another night, another party at a hotel in Ibiza. The international clientele dances to the house beat while laser lights reflect on the curvy swimming pool and on a sea of sunglasses worn after dark at the open-air venue.