On Saturday, June 18, rescue services continued to fight fires in Spain. One of these fires has already destroyed 20,000 hectares of Spain’s north-west, during an unusually severe heat wave. .
One of the most significant forest fires in history forced authorities to evacuate 14 villages with hundreds of inhabitants from the Sierra de la Culebra. This mountain range is located in the region Castile and Leon near the border with Portugal. Some of the residents were able to return home on Saturday morning after the flames had moved from their homes, according to regional authorities.
The government of Castile & Leon stated that the fire “remains alive”, citing “unfavorable weather conditions” with high temperatures and dry winds. He stated that the fire had burned nearly 19,765 hectares.
Spanish firefighters continued to fight other fires, including those in Caudiel (southeast), and Artesa de Segre (northeast) where a fire that started Wednesday has already destroyed 1,600 hectares.
Other fires were contained, however, in the Iruelas Valley (west) and the Toledo region (center), which saw nearly 900 hectares of ground burn near the park. Puy du Fou attractions Nearly 3,000 people were evacuated from the historic theme park on Friday due to the fire. It is a subsidiary of French Puy du Fou and was inaugurated in March 2021. According to management, the park was able to reopen its doors Saturday after the fire was under control.
The unusual heat wave that Spain experienced for the past week, which was considered by scientists to be a result of global warming, has led to this series of fires. According to the Spanish Meteorological Agency, Aemet, very high temperatures were still possible on Saturday, particularly in Toledo (41degC) and the Ebro Valley at the foot the Pyrenees (42degC), with Zaragoza seeing peaks of 42degC and even 43degC.
According to Aemet, this heat wave that also affected France and Italy should end on Sunday due to a cooler air mass from the west.
According to the meteorological agency in Spain, this year saw the hottest May since the start of the century. Spain has also experienced four extreme heat waves over the past ten month, including the current heatwave.
