ZARAGOZA, June 18 (Reuters) – Spanish firefighters were battling on Saturday to try to control massive wildfires stoked by temperatures nearing their seasonal highs.
Many parts of Western Europe are currently suffering from a heat wave, but it is particularly marked in Zaragoza, in the North-East of Spain, and in the regions of Navarre and La Rioja in the North of country, with forecasts between 40 and 42 degrees according to the national meteorological agency Aemet.
In addition to the heat, the dry weather accompanied by wind caused fires to start in several areas, the province of Zamora, in the northwest of the country, near the Portuguese border, being among the most affected.
Nearly 20,000 hectares of land went up in smoke in the mountains of the Sierra de la Culebra natural park, where the fire was still “active” according to a tweet from the regional government.
By Saturday afternoon, eleven villages had been evacuated and some 500 firefighters remained mobilized to try to put out the flames, he added.
No deaths or injuries were reported.
In Catalonia, firefighters at work to control a fire in Baldomar said they expected the day to be “complicated” by very high temperatures and a strong southerly wind.
The flames also rose high in the sky on the outskirts of the village of Caudiel, in eastern Spain. Equipped with masks, the firefighters helped to evacuate residents from the streets invaded by smoke, some of them holding their dogs or horses on a leash. (Vincent West and Jessica Jones, Gilles Guillaume for the French version)