Extreme fire risk warning issued for Spain after seven die
Firefighters have been battling to put out blazes across southern Europe in one of the worst summers for wildfires in 20 years. A nearly two-week heatwave and southerly winds are worsening the situation in Spain, Virginia Barcones, the director general of emergency services, said on Friday.
"In the western part of the country the situation is extremely worrying," Barcones said on RTVE.
In Galicia, several fires converged to form a large blaze, forcing the closure of highways and rail services to the region.
As fire spread from Galicia's Ourense province to neighbouring Zamora, provoking evacuations, some stayed behind to protect their homes.
People run by a burnt area during a wildfire near the village of Larouco, in the province of Ourense, Spain, on Wednesday. Picture: Miguel Riopa/AFP
Spain's national weather agency Aemet warned of extreme fire risk in the north and west of the country, as temperatures are expected to reach up to 40 degrees Celsius on the north coast.
A fire near Molezuelas de la Carballeda in the Castile and Leon region — one of the largest in Spain's history — had not advanced since Thursday.
That wildfire had, at one point, been spreading by 4,000ha/h, according to national government representative Eduardo Diego.
Summer holidays
The fires caused the closure of more than half a dozen roads on a busy bank holiday weekend, leaving travellers stuck at the height of summer holidays.
Wildfires have burned more than 157,000ha in Spain so far this year, almost double the annual average, according to the European Union's Forest Fire Information Service.
In neighbouring Portugal, meanwhile, thousands of firefighters were battling five large blazes in central and northern parts of the country — with one fire in Trancoso, some 350km northeast of Lisbon, now raging for six days.
Around 300 residents were evacuated on Friday from the village of Covanca near Piodao, an area of central Portugal popular with tourists, after a wildfire broke out on Wednesday.
Portugal has activated the EU mechanism for assistance and requested four Canadair planes, according to civil protection commander Mario Silvestre.
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Irish Independent
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Spain, Portugal, and Greece battle wildfires as heatwave is expected to last for days
Spain was fighting 14 major fires, according to Virginia Barcones, general director of emergency services. Temperatures were expected to climb over the weekend. The national weather agency AEMET warned of extreme fire risk in most of the country, including where the largest blazes were burning in the north and west. A heatwave which brought temperatures exceeding 40C on several days this month was expected to last through Monday. Fires in the Galicia region forced the closure of several highways. The high speed rail line connecting it to Spain's capital, Madrid, remained suspended. In Portugal, nearly 4,000 firefighters were battling fires yesterday. Seven major fires were active. Authorities extended the state of alert until tomorrow as high temperatures were expected to last through the weekend. The Portuguese government yesterday requested assistance from the EU's civil protection mechanism, a firefighting force that European countries in need can call upon. A day before, Spain received two Canadair water bomber aircraft after requesting EU help to tackle blazes for the first time ever. In the past week, Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania have requested help from the EU's firefighting force. The force has already been activated as many times this year as all of last year's fire season. Yesterday, a wildfire in Greece burned out of control for a fourth day on the island of Chios, prompting several more overnight evacuations. Two water-dropping planes and two helicopters were operating in the north of the island in the eastern Aegean Sea, where local authorities said a lull in high winds was helping firefighters early yesterday.
RTÉ News
21 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Portugal reports first death from heatwave fires
The fires raging across Portugal claimed their first victim, when the former mayor of the eastern town of Guarda died fighting fires there, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced. The president offered "heartfelt condolences to the mayor of Guarda for the death of former mayor Carlos Damaso, victim of a fire he was fighting in his parish, asking that he pass them on to his family", said the president's statement. Mr Rebelo de Sousa added that he had cut short his holidays and returned to the presidential palace, joining a meeting of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority. For days now, several thousand firefighters have been battling fires in various parts of the country. Like its neighbour Spain, Portugal has invoked the EU's civil protection mechanism to ask for help, requesting four firefighting aircraft to use until Monday, the presidency said on X. After devastating fires in 2017 that killed 119 people across the country, Portugal boosted investment on fire prevention tenfold, doubling its budget for fighting forest fires. It subsequently managed to reduce the amount of land lost to 134,000 acres between 2018 and 2023, a third of what was lost between 2001 and 2017, according to government figures. It comes as all of Spain is on heatwave alert while the weather agency warned that much of the country is at "very high to extreme risk" from wildfires. The situation has improved for several other southern European nations, but Greece is still fighting fires on one Aegean island. Much of Spain has already endured nearly two weeks of high temperatures. The searing heat has spread to the northwestern region of Cantabria which had so far been spared. Temperatures there are forecast to pass 40C, said Aemet, the national weather agency. The risk of fires over the weekend and into Monday is "very high or extreme in most of the country", it added. Spain has endured a devastating season of fires, with 157,501 hectares reduced to ashes since the start of the year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). Yet that figure is still well short of 2022, when more than 306,000 hectares went up in smoke. Three people have died during the fires, including two young volunteers in their 30s who lost their lives trying to put out a blaze in the Castile and Leon area. France has sent two water-bombing planes to help try to douse the flames in the northwestern region, where a dozen fires are still raging. The railway line between Madrid and the northwestern region of Galicia remains closed as well as ten main roads in the country. Elsewhere in southern Europe, lower temperatures and reduced wind are helping to improve the situation in Greece and the Balkans, where rain is forecast. Firefighters remain in Patras, Greece's third-largest city, due to "scattered" fires and are on the look-out if any reignite. The most active is still on the Mediterranean island of Chios, in the northeastern Aegean Sea, where eight aircraft have been deployed to try to douse the flames. The risk of fire remains high in the Attica region that includes the capital, Athens, and the southern Pelopponese peninsula, the Civil Protection agency warned. In Albania, initial government estimates said that thousands of cattle had been killed and 40 homes destroyed in just three days of wildfires.
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Irish Examiner
Extreme fire risk warning issued for Spain after seven die
Spain battled 14 major fires driven by high winds and aggravated by heat on Friday, as authorities warned of "unfavourable conditions" to tackle flames that have already killed seven people and burned an area the size of London, England. Firefighters have been battling to put out blazes across southern Europe in one of the worst summers for wildfires in 20 years. A nearly two-week heatwave and southerly winds are worsening the situation in Spain, Virginia Barcones, the director general of emergency services, said on Friday. "In the western part of the country the situation is extremely worrying," Barcones said on RTVE. In Galicia, several fires converged to form a large blaze, forcing the closure of highways and rail services to the region. As fire spread from Galicia's Ourense province to neighbouring Zamora, provoking evacuations, some stayed behind to protect their homes. People run by a burnt area during a wildfire near the village of Larouco, in the province of Ourense, Spain, on Wednesday. Picture: Miguel Riopa/AFP Spain's national weather agency Aemet warned of extreme fire risk in the north and west of the country, as temperatures are expected to reach up to 40 degrees Celsius on the north coast. A fire near Molezuelas de la Carballeda in the Castile and Leon region — one of the largest in Spain's history — had not advanced since Thursday. That wildfire had, at one point, been spreading by 4,000ha/h, according to national government representative Eduardo Diego. Summer holidays The fires caused the closure of more than half a dozen roads on a busy bank holiday weekend, leaving travellers stuck at the height of summer holidays. Wildfires have burned more than 157,000ha in Spain so far this year, almost double the annual average, according to the European Union's Forest Fire Information Service. In neighbouring Portugal, meanwhile, thousands of firefighters were battling five large blazes in central and northern parts of the country — with one fire in Trancoso, some 350km northeast of Lisbon, now raging for six days. Around 300 residents were evacuated on Friday from the village of Covanca near Piodao, an area of central Portugal popular with tourists, after a wildfire broke out on Wednesday. Portugal has activated the EU mechanism for assistance and requested four Canadair planes, according to civil protection commander Mario Silvestre.
