Three fires destroyed 1,600 hectares of pine forest and scrub in Catalonia, northeastern Spain, local firefighters said Thursday, as heat waves gripped the country.
Hundreds of firefighters were on the ground to fight the blaze using 120 trucks and 19 planes, near the towns of Baldomar, Corbera d’Ebre and Castellar Ribera, Catalonia’s regional fire department said.
Most of the efforts are focused on Baldomar, where the fire threatens 20,000 hectares of woodland and farmland. Several isolated houses were evacuated, as well as a center for children with 54 minors.
No one was reported killed or injured. Large parts of the country are at high or severe risk of forest fires, national weather agency AEMET said.
On June 5, the area burned in Spain was 34% lower than the same period in 2021. However, since last week the combination of hot weather, winds and storms has caused wildfires in the country. .
Scorching heat engulfed Spain at the end of last week, the earliest heat wave since 1981, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius in many parts.
Reuters
Source: Radio-Canada
