According to local media, around 700 people were evacuated near the coast of the Galicia region on Saturday. There were not enough firefighting helicopters available to bring all the fires under control, said the mayor of the municipality of A Pobra do Caramiñal, Xosé Lois Piñeiro, on the online network Facebook.
According to the regional government of Galicia, at least 1,200 hectares went up in flames in a fire in the municipality of Boiro alone. Another fire that broke out on Wednesday in the municipality of Verin, on the other hand, is developing “favourably”. It destroyed 600 hectares, but poses no danger to the population. According to the authorities, the fire in the municipality near the border with Portugal was presumably set intentionally.
Fires and heat waves are becoming more frequent and extreme
Spain is currently experiencing the third heat wave in two months. Temperatures remained above 35 degrees in large parts of the country. Since the beginning of the year, forest fires in Spain have destroyed more than 230,000 hectares of vegetation, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis). This makes it the hardest hit EU member state this year. Never since measurements began in 2000 has such a large burned area been recorded in Spain. As a direct result of the climate crisis, forest fires and heat waves are becoming increasingly frequent and extreme. This is now the scientific consensus.
Source: Nachrichten
