Rescue services continue to tackle several fires in Spain on Sunday as the unusually extreme heatwave begins to subside. High temperatures in France are intensifying in the west of the country after higher temperatures seen the day before.
The largest of these forest fires destroyed more than 25,000 hectares in the Sierra de la Culebra, a mountain range in the Castile and Leon region near the Portuguese border, according to regional officials.
The fire, which broke out in wet and dry weather Wednesday, forced authorities to evacuate 14 villages with a population of several hundred.
Once the situation improved, residents were allowed to return on Sunday morning.
Authorities reported that some roads were closed to traffic and the high-speed rail link between Madrid and Galicia’s northwest region, which was closed on Saturday due to fires, has also reopened.
Smaller wildfires also broke out elsewhere in the country, in the Catalonia region (northwest) and Navarra region (north), one of the few regions in Spain where temperatures remained unusually high on Sunday.
Free trails for firefighters
The Navarra regional government has urged the public to avoid “unnecessary travel” to leave the roads clear for firefighters.
“We have very difficult hours ahead,” Amparo Lopez Antelo, director of the Navarra Ministry of the Interior, told reporters.
He added that the work of rescue services has been hampered by high temperatures and winds blowing from the south at speeds exceeding 30 kilometers per hour.
Temperatures above 40°C were recorded throughout the week in Spain, but fell across most of the country on Sunday.
Thermometers are expected to reach just 29°C in Madrid on Sunday and 25°C in the province of Zamora, where the Sierra de Culebra is located.
In France, the national meteorological service lifted its red alert, which was triggered by the intense and precoded heatwave that peaked on Saturday, with temperatures exceeding 40°C in several regions. But in the west of the country, temperatures remain high, reaching 38 degrees Celsius in some areas.
(with information from AFP)
source: Noticias
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