Wildfires that broke out in forests around the Spanish capital at the height of the summer holidays have forced some 60,000 people to flee their homes, often with just minutes' notice, some leaving pets and medicine behind."You run to save what you can and then you turn to defend" against the fire, said Karim Benali, 39, a volunteer who spoke to AFP on a road near Navaluenga, west of Madrid."There were some 48 homes here, they burned," he said, surrounded by charred earth and trees blanketed with a persistent smell of smoke. The fires devoured forests left tinder-dry by successive heatwaves and lack of rain since May.David Sanchez, a 48-year-old painter and decorator, had just returned home to Cebreros after evacuating at the weekend to find that his small olive and pistachio grove had been consumed by the inferno."Now it's time to clean up and plant again and that's it. It's crap, to be honest. And the fire has flared up again down there," he said, surrounded by air still smokey enough to burn the eyes and throat.Overnight, lower temperatures, weaker winds and higher air humidity helped make progress against the blazes west of the capital, the Madrid regional government said."The situation has improved slightly, but the fire is still active," it said.But with humidity levels about to drop and temperatures soar across Spain, hitting 42C in the northeast and 39C in the centre according to meteorological agency AEMET, firefighters have only a small window of opportunity.'Extreme caution'