BARCELONA, Spain: On Sunday Firefighters in Spain struggled to contain wildfires in several parts of the country, which are unusually suffering a heat wave at this time of the year.
The northwest province of Zamora experienced the worst damage, wherein almost 25,000 hectares (61,000 acres) have been eaten away by the fire, said the regional authorities.
The blaze that made its way from Zamor’s Sierra de la Culebra has led to the forced evacuation of at least 10 villages now. Even though the temperature drop overnight has helped somewhat with the offers. In sparsely populated areas, more than 500 firefighters are supported by water dumping helicopters and planes.
With Spain’s sweltering under-recorded temperatures at various points of the country in June, authorities have been on high alert for an outbreak of intense wildfires anytime. The abnormal hot period for Europe has been linked to climate change, experts say. Rising above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the thermometers of many cities throughout the week, which is usually expected to be experienced in August.
The conditions of the fires are produced by a lack of rainfall along with gusting winds this year.
Authorities have reported that gusting winds of up to 70 kph (43 mph) that were seen changing their course erratically later combined with temperatures near 40 celsius, made it quite tough for the crews.
An official for the Castilla y Leon region informed the Spanish state television TVE, “The fire was able to cross a reservoir some 500 meters wide and reach the other side, to give an idea of the difficulties we faced.”
Tracing back the fire, it seems to have started in Zamora by a strike from an electrical storm on Wednesday, commented the authorities on such a critical matter. The fire spread led to high-speed train service from Madrid to Spaid’s northwest to be cut on Saturday. On Sunday morning it was re-established.
Firefighting units of the Military have been deployed in Zamora, Navarra, and Lleida.
Up until now, there have been no such reports of lives lost but the flames have reached the outskirts of some villages both in central Navarra and Zamora. Video clips shot by passengers in cars have shown flames licking the sides of roads. While in other villages, as black plumes rise from nearby hills, the residents are caught in despair.
Navarra regional vice-president Javier Ramirez told TVE, “The situation remains delicate. We have various active fires due to the extremely high temperatures and high winds”. Some buildings of a few of the villages saw damage on their outskirts, reported Ramirez.
Amid this, wild animals had to evacuate from an animal park in Navarra and shifted to a bull ring for their safe keeping, said the authorities. Active in three parts of the Northeast Catalonia wildfires are experienced; in Lleida, Tarragona, and in a nature park in Garaf, which lies just south of Barcelona.
