New Spain fire forces evacuation of 800 near Portugal border
- Emergency services for the Castilla y Leon region said 800 people were evacuated from the path of the new blaze
A new wildfire in western Spain has burned 11,000 hectares and forced 800 evacuations in 24 hours, adding to a series of large blazes across the region.
- Rapid spread and community impact of the new blaze.
- Emergency services' response and challenges.
- Other significant wildfires in Spain.
MADRID: A new wildfire in western Spain near the Portuguese border has burned 11,000 hectares in 24 hours and forced 800 people to evacuate, officials said on Thursday.
The mayor of Fermoselle, where the fire started on Wednesday, gave the number of hectares and told AFP the village faced “hell” and a “tunnel of flame” in the blaze, which follows days of larger wildfires west of Madrid.
Emergency services for the Castilla y Leon region said 800 people were evacuated from the path of the new blaze.
Spain’s Military Emergency Unit (UME) was deployed to the Level 2 fire – a classification that triggers extra support from the central government.
Raul de la Fuente, a senior fire official in the Castilla y Leon regional government, said the fire was burning through a ravine and threatening to reach another village, with strong winds forecast.
“We are focusing our efforts in stopping that from happening,” he told reporters.
Two other Level 2 fires - at Val de la Loba and San Cipriano del Condado – were active in the same Zamora province, in the Castile and Leon region which has already been hit by the largest fire in Spanish history since record-keeping began.
That fire in the Avila area has burned approximately 50,000 hectares (125,000 acres) of land.
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