The fire that broke out on Wednesday in the Spanish region of Extremadura, on the border with Portugal, continues without control and has already burned 8,500 hectares, according to a provisional estimate released this Friday by the regional authorities.
According to a statement from the Junta de Extremadura, the 8,500 hectares are an approximate calculation of the burned land because within the perimeter of the fire there are “numerous islands of vegetation that did not burn.”
The fire started on Wednesday night in the region of Las Hurdes and spread to the Serra de Gata, both in the province of Cáceres, affecting the flames in areas that are a few tens of kilometers from the border with Portugal (in the region of Beira Baja). ).
Portugal sent this Friday a group of 100 operatives and about 30 vehicles in response to a request for help, to fight forest fires, made by Spanish Civil Protection.
The fire is being fought by more than 500 people, including military personnel.
Due to the fire, an average of 700 people have been evacuated from their homes, in different locations, and will have to spend the following night even in temporary accommodation, Nieves Villar, head of Civil Protection of the Junta de Extremadura, explained to the media. to the media. spot. .
Nieves Villar said that on Friday afternoon the situation was more optimistic than at the beginning of the day because “positive results of the work” to fight the fire were already being noticed, although the fire was still under control.
“We are optimistic because thanks to the reinforcement and pressure from so many circles we are seeing favorable results,” he said.
However, the fire is not “controlled or stabilized”, he added.
According to the Spanish authorities, the fire spread by the wind and is suspected of criminal origin.
Spain, like the rest of southern Europe, is facing another year of drought and in recent weeks has recorded record high temperatures for the season.
Coinciding with the drought and heat, Spain has already registered large forest fires this year, such as a fire that ripped through at least four thousand hectares in the east of the country at the end of March.
Spain even recorded a wave of fires at the end of March, with dozens of fires in various regions of the country.
Source: TSF
