Villages evacuated as 'very large' wildfire ravages south-west Spain
3 Min Read
Hundreds of firemen are battling a blaze that has spread to at least 7,500 hectares in northern Extremadura.
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A view of a fire burning in Pinofranqueado, Spain May 18, 2023, in this screen grab taken from a handout video. Emergency Military Unit (Ume) Handout. (Reuters)
Hundreds of civilian and military firefighters are battling a wildfire in southwest Spain that has burnt at least 7,500 hectares (18,500 acres) and caused the evacuation of over 500 residents since it erupted on Wednesday evening.
Strong winds are hampering efforts to battle the "very large and difficult" fire in the Las Hurdes and Sierra de Gata districts of northern Extremadura, according to the regional administration, which claims the wildfire was deliberately sparked.
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Three communities, Cadalso, Descargamara, and Robledillo de Gata, have been evacuated, and three major routes have been blocked.
According to the regional administration, more than 500 firemen, including personnel of the military emergency unit, had been sent and were attempting to suppress the fire using 10 earthmovers, six aircraft, eight helicopters, and 23 road vehicles.
Extremadura’s president, Guillermo Fernández Vara said the problem was not human and material resources but rather "wind and gusts of up to 60km per hour, which are making it incredibly difficult to control the fire."
Vara explained that the person who started the fire knew what they were doing since the pine trees are comparable to petrol cans and the pine cones "like flame-throwers."
In preparation for next week's municipal and regional elections, Spain's prime minister canceled a campaign trip to the region. Pedro Sánchez stated that he was actively monitoring the situation and extended his entire support to anyone impacted.
Begoa Garca, the head of Extremadura's agriculture department, advised people in the region to report anything unusual to authorities, adding that neighbors " “know that this was done on purpose.”
Local emergency authorities also encouraged residents to avoid the impacted regions in order to avoid clogging evacuation routes.
Marcos Hernández, who lives in Pinofranqueado, the municipality where the fire started, told Efe News that residents felt "very angry" and powerless as the wildfire raged on.
Fires in Las Hurdes consumed more than 8,000 hectares of land in 2003, while blazes in the same region consumed more than 5,000 hectares last July.
According to the European Forest Fire Information System, wildfires consumed more than 315,000 hectares of land in Spain last year.
The Spanish government agreed to a €2.2 billion (£1.9 billion) plan last week to assist farmers and consumers in dealing with an ongoing drought aggravated by the warmest and wettest April on record.
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Teresa Ribera, the environment minister, stated that the repercussions of the climate emergency were becoming more visible. "Spain is a country that is used to periods of drought but there’s no doubt that, as a consequence of the climate change we’re experiencing, we’re seeing far more frequent and intense events and phenomena,” she added.
