Fire in Spain: 12,000 hectares ravaged, residents evacuated back home

2023-05-21 02:09:02

Good news at last. The fire, which has ravaged around 12,000 ha in Extremadura, in western Spain, since Thursday, was stabilized this Saturday evening and part of the 700 evacuated residents will be able to return home, announced the regional authorities.

The region’s forest fire prevention and control service “declared the Las Hurdes fire as stabilized,” said the government of this Spanish region. “The Pinofranqueado forest fire situation is better than yesterday (Friday) and the evolution of the weather can help as the hours pass, ”added the president of the region, Guillermo Fernandez Vara, on social networks.

Good news. The residents of 3 towns affected by #IFPinfranchised they return to their homes. Fire stabilized although level 2 remains. Thanks to the heroes who continue to work on the ground and the support of government and CCAA troops who are helping us so much. pic.twitter.com/2ZbzuDjhLF

— Guillermo Fdez Vara (@GFVara) May 20, 2023

Data obtained via the European satellite Copernicus, an area of ​​nearly 12,000 ha burned, more than the estimates of regional authorities evaluating the area affected at 8,500 ha.

In the morning, the civil protection coordinator Nieves Villar had been encouraging during a press conference, noting that there was little wind in the sector and a lot of men and means implemented to circumscribe the fire. The firefighters from Portugal joined their Spanish colleagues, the coordinator explained, pointing out that there were “more than 600 participants”.

Country most affected by fires last year

While summer, the season for forest fires, has not yet arrived, Spain has already suffered several, after being the most affected country in Europe in 2022, with nearly 500 fires that have devoured more than 300,000 ha, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

A European country on the front line in the face of climate change, Spain has been experiencing an increase in heat waves for several years, with increasingly rare and irregular rainfall. The first quarter of this year was the “driest” since records began in 1961, according to the National Meteorological Agency.

In addition to the pronounced lack of precipitation, a very early wave of extreme temperatures was added at the end of April, which reached an absolute record for the month of April in mainland Spain of 38.8 ºC, a level more characteristic of the month of summer. summer like July or August.