First major wildfire in Spain forces evacuation of 1,500

THE first major wildfire in Spain this year, has devastated more than a thousand hectares in the east of the country and forced the evacuation of around 1,500 people, state television RTVE reported on Friday.

The fire hit the border region between the autonomous communities of Aragon and Valencia. The evacuations took place on Thursday and Friday, the broadcaster said, citing official reports.

More than 10 localities in the provinces of Castellón in Valencia and Teruel in Aragon were affected. Power was cut in some areas and at least three roads closed off by the authorities. Valencia President Ximo Puig described the flames as “voracious.”

“We were told to leave as quickly as possible. We grabbed pyjamas and that was that,” an elderly woman told RTVE.

The AEMET state weather service reported that firefighting was being hampered by high winds, low humidity levels and relatively high temperatures for the time of year of above 20 degrees Celsius.

Spain’s fire services and military emergency unit, the UME, deployed 20 helicopters and firefighting planes.

In 2022, the country experienced its worst wildfire year since records began. The European Union’s Copernicus Earth monitoring programme recorded 493 wildfires. More than 3,000 square kilometres were destroyed.