Spain has deployed more than 500 troops to fight a raging wildfire, bringing the total deployment to 1,900. The death toll is also constantly increasing from the blaze that thousands of firefighters have been battling in Spain and Portugal since Saturday. Some parts of Southern Europe are reeling under a heat wave.
Spain’s national weather agency, AEMET, said the temperature in the area has exceeded 44°C in several places on Saturday, and locals are being warned of a very high risk of fire across “practically the entire country.” More than 1,500 km² or 579 mi² have been devastated by the flames in Spain, killing seven people. Likewise, the heat wave has affected parts of Southern Europe this week, prompting wildfires in Spain, Portugal, Greece, France, and the Balkans. This has exposed Spain to newer wildfire risks. The country’s Prime Minister has warned citizens on Friday about the conditions via a post on social media platform X.
Currently, Castile and León is the most affected area, with local radio stations reporting on Monday that the air is almost unbearable due to the smoke. The fire in the western province of Cáceres is also still out of control and has created an 11,000-hectare area (27,101 acres). Meanwhile, 12 fires are burning in the northwestern region of Galicia, most of them in the province of Ourense, with the largest blaze burning about 17,500 hectares.
Cases of wildfire have increased in Spain, a country where causing a wildfire is a criminal offence, even if accidental. Last week, two volunteers died fighting a fire in León, while another man died in Cantos, near Madrid, after a fire broke out. This year about 343,000 hectares of land have been destroyed across Spain, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). This figure is double the amount recorded the previous year. The Spanish Civil Guard said they have proposed sanctions on four people for carrying out unauthorised burns in A Coruña, in the Galicia region, over the weekend.
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