MADRID: Local emergency services said on Friday that a wildfire in the western Spanish areas of Extremadura has devastated up to 3,700 acres and forced more than 550 people from their houses with windy weather muddling efforts to bring it under control.
Wildfire Ravages 3,700 Acres in Spain
A commander of the Military Emergency Unit, Mr. David Barona, told state-run TV channel 24H “There are strong gusts of wind generating a speed that make efforts to extinguish it very difficult,”. “The smoke cloud is spreading at a low altitude, making it very difficult for air assets to make access the area.”
Over 250 firefighters are fighting the fire in the area in Caceres province, close to the border with Portugal. Officials have ordered the evacuation of more than 550 people in the affected areas.
“It is a very large assault on vegetation and the region,” the chief of Extremadura emergency services told the media. An unusually dry winter across southern Europe coming after 3 years of below-average rainfall in Spain has raised the risk of wildfires in the region. 493 fires damaged a record 307,000 hectares in Spain in 2022, the European Forest Fire Information System said.
