In recent years, summer wildfires have become a huge problem in Southern Europe. The fires can grow to enormous sizes and are unprecedentedly destructive, the Rescue Board said in a statement.

Estonia's firefighters have been going to help for several years under the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism. This year, 40 rescue workers assisted in Spain throughout August.

Team leader Taavi Tilk said: "Unfortunately, there was much more firefighting to do this year than last year, but cooperation is getting better and better."

He said the situation on the ground in the northwest Galicia region, where the Estonians worked, is bleak.

"Vast areas have burned, and animals and birds have temporarily lost their habitats until nature recovers. However, villages and people's homes have been saved. The locals are very grateful to the rescuers, and we saw that gratitude everywhere we went," Tilk described.

Hopes that the temperatures would drop last week did not materialize and the fires continued to rage. The terrain where the Estonian team worked was more difficult this year, with steep slopes, very dense undergrowth and shrubbery.

"In Spain, a common tactic is backburning, meaning that the material in the path of the wildfire is burned off in a controlled way to stop its spread. This time we got to do it ourselves for the first time, and we burned off one mountainside," Tilk said.

Estonia participates in the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism to gain experience in different terrains and assist allies.

During the winter, the Rescue Board plans to expand the team and continue training and learning.

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