Firefighters continued, Saturday, June 18, to fight against fires in Spain, on the last day of an extreme and unusually early heat wave.
The most important of these forest fires forced the authorities to evacuate fourteen villages, with several hundred inhabitants, in the Sierra de la Culebra, a mountain range in the region of Castile and Leon, near the border with the Portugal. According to the regional authorities, some of them were able to return to their homes on Saturday morning, the flames having moved away from the homes concerned.
Nevertheless, the fire “stay active”underlined the government of Castile and Leon, which refers to weather conditions “unfavorable”, with a dry wind and high temperatures. In total, “19,765 hectares burned” in this fire, he said.
Firefighters also continued to fight other fires in Caudiel, in the region of Valencia (East), or in Artesa de Segre, in Catalonia (North-East), where a fire in progress since Wednesday has already ravaged 1,600 acres of land.
Other fires, on the other hand, were under control, notably in the Iruelas Valley, near Avila (Centre), and in the Toledo region (Centre), where nearly 900 hectares of land burned near the park of attractions of Puy du Fou. Because of this fire, nearly 3,000 people had to be evacuated Friday from this theme park, a subsidiary of the French Puy du Fou. The fire having been brought under control, “the park has reopened its doors” on Saturday, the management told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Up to 43°C in Zaragoza
This series of fires comes as Spain has been facing a very intense and unusual heat wave for a week, considered by scientists to be a consequence of global warming.
According to the Spanish Meteorological Agency (Aemet), very high temperatures were still expected on Saturday, especially in Toledo (41 ° C), and in the Ebro valley, at the foot of the Pyrenees, with peaks at 42 ° C, even 43 ° C, expected in Zaragoza.
In northern Italy, Lombardy is preparing to declare a state of emergency in the face of a record drought threatening crops, and water is already rationed in several towns in the Po plain. This region is facing its worst drought for seventy years.
The United Nations (UN) on Friday called for “act now” against drought and desertification in order to avoid “human disasters”. “It’s time to act: every action counts”said the executive secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Ibrahim Thiaw, during a conference in Madrid on the occasion of the World Day for the fight against drought.
This heat wave, which also affects France, should end on Sunday, thanks to a colder air mass coming from the West, according to Aemet.
Spain, which this year experienced its hottest May since the beginning of the century according to the meteorological agency, has already gone through four episodes of extreme temperatures over the past ten months, including the current heat wave.