Madrid, Aug 19: Spain has faced several major wildfires in one of its most destructive fire seasons in recent decades, despite dropping temperatures across the Iberian Peninsula.
Thousands of firefighters, aided by soldiers and water-bombing aircraft, continued to fight fires tearing through parched woodland, particularly in northwestern Spain, where the weather agency AEMET reported a still “very high or extreme” fire risk, particularly in the Galicia region.
Firefighting units from Germany arrived in northern Spain to help fight the blazes, while over 20 vehicles were deployed to fight an ongoing blaze in Jarilla in the Extremadura region that borders Portugal.
Spain’s fires have killed 4 people this year and have burned more than 382,000 hectares, more than twice the size of metropolitan London. Police have detained 23 people for suspected arson and are investigating 89 more.
In Portugal, over 3,700 firefighters were tackling blazes, including 4 major ones in the north and center, with wildfires burning about 235,000 hectares or 907 square miles, nearly 5 times more than the 2006-2024 average. (AP)
