The fires that devastate the western half of Spain burned 30,000 additional hectares in 24 hours, according to data from the Copernician European satellite published on Tuesday, August 19, even if the end of the heat wave that arrives in the country feeds the hope of improving the situation.
Some 373,000 hectares had burned this Tuesday in Spain since the beginning of the year, 30,000 more than Monday, a figure in constant progression, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), which uses Copernicus data.
Since the beginning of EFFIS surveys in 2006, this is the worst year for Spain in terms of surface burned by the flames, beyond the previous record established in 2022 (306,000 hectares calcined).
The hope of an upcoming improvement in the situation
Most of this surface burned in the great fires that have affected the provinces of Zamora and Léon in Castilla-Et-León (Northwest) for ten days, that of Oorense in Galicia (Northwest), and in the province of Cáceres at the end (west).
Thousands of dozens of villages have been evacuated, dozens of roads are cut and rail traffic between Madrid and Galicia is interrupted. Pedro Sánchez Socialist Prime Minister is expected on Tuesday at noon in the areas affected in Zamora and Cáceres.
Even if the extinction of these fires still takes time, the end of the heat wave that Spain devastated for 16 days on Monday, offers hope to improve the situation.
This meteorological change will result in a “reduction of 10 to 12 degrees of maximum temperatures, to which the increase in” moisture rates, “Nicanor Sen Vélez, Government Delegate (Prefect) of Castille-Et-Leon, in TVE Public Television, should also be added.
French reinforcements on the site
This “facilitates and improves the conditions” to “control these fires,” he added. For its part, France sent 66 employees in reinforcement to Spain on Monday, August 18 announced civil security to BFMTV. An answer to the call to the help of Spain that had asked its European neighbors a few days before reinforcements within the framework of the European Civil Protection mechanism (MEPC).
Among these reinforcements, firefighters have arrived and are committed to fires since Tuesday morning. Sappers-Sauveurs, civil security soldiers, will be involved at the end of Tuesday.
Source: BFM TV
