France and Italy both dispatched two Canadair fire-fighting airplanes to Galicia while neighboring Portugal sent 20 vehicles and 65 forest firefighters hours after Spain asked the commission for assistance.

More help was expected from other EU countries "in the coming hours", said the commission.

EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: "European help is already on the way to Spain."

Under an EU civil protection programme, the commissioner is in charge of coordinating responses to requests for help from members struggling to cope with a natural disaster.

"The commission is doing its best to improve the tools at its disposal," Dimas said.

"The response to the forest fires in Spain has shown that co-operation and co-ordination in providing civil protection assistance are not only necessary but also demonstrate European solidarity at its best," he added.

Although Galicia suffers massive forest fires each year, the regional government said this year's destruction was "unprecedented", with about 110 blazes burning on Wednesday.

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