MADRID (AFP) - Around 600 people were evacuated from a village in Spain's Costa del Sol on Sunday as a wildfire threatened to engulf homes in the tourist hotspot, local authorities said.

More than 100 firefighters and several planes and helicopters were deployed to battle the blaze, which began in an area of natural park close to the village of Competa, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Malaga.

Local firefighting authority Plan Infoca said the blaze had been "stabilised" at 1900 GMT after an operation lasting several hours.

The president of Malaga Province, Elias Bendodo, told local television that around "600 people" including foreign tourists had been evacuated from Competa.

"The fire forced the precautionary evacuation of houses," the regional government said in a statement, adding that around 200 people participating in a traditional festival were also moved from the path of the blaze.

The fire also threatened areas of the Sierras de Tejeda national park before being brought under control, authorities said.