Spain
The wave of forest fires is now “under control”
On Saturday, the fires that raged in the north of Spain are now under control, even if they are not yet all extinguished.
Published
According to the authorities, these fires were deliberately caused.
AFP/SPANISH MILITARY EMERGENCY UNIT
THE multiple wildfires of criminal origin having ravaged Asturias and Cantabria in northern Spain in recent days, were stabilized on Saturday thanks to more favorable weather conditions, the authorities announced.
In the Asturias region, 71 fires were still underway on Saturday noon, compared to more than 90 the day before. But almost all of them are “under control and stabilized”, said Oscar Rodriguez, the head of the region’s emergency services, during a press briefing.
According to the authorities of this autonomous community located on the northern Atlantic coast of Spain, firefighters have been helped in recent hours by the improvement in weather conditions, with a less strong wind and the arrival of light rain.
Evacuations and hectares burned
In the neighboring region of Cantabria, where 35 fires were recorded on Friday, “all are extinguished” with the exception of two forest fires still in progress but “under control”, the regional government said on Twitter.
The forest fires, which have multiplied simultaneously in recent days, have led to the evacuation of nearly 400 people and mobilized a large fire brigade. In Asturias, a total of 11,000 hectares have been affected, according to Oscar Rodriguez.
According to the authorities, these fires were deliberately caused. There was “clearly a coordinated action by environmental terrorists”, which could have caused “hundreds of deaths”, denounced Saturday during the press briefing the regional president of Asturias, Adrian Barbon. In Castellón, in the Valencia region (east), another giant forest fire has mobilized firefighters in recent days, before being stabilized on Friday. According to the regional government, almost 4700 hectares have been burned.
Consequence of climate change
In Spain, facing a long drought after three years of below-average rainfall, authorities believe that the fire season, previously limited to summer, now runs from spring to autumn, a consequence of climate change .
In 2022, a black year for forest fires in Europe, Spain was the most affected European country, with nearly 500 fires that ravaged more than 300,000 hectares, according to the European Forest Information System. forest fires (Effis).
(AFP)