High temperatures and severe drought have led to forest fires in northeastern Spain. According to local media, the ashes have already reached Barcelona.
Barcelona – In northeastern Spain, a forest fire got out of control around 100 kilometers west of Barcelona. The flames have so far destroyed 1,100 hectares of forest and farmland, said the forestry authority of Catalonia on Twitter.
There is a risk that the wind, which usually sets in around noon in the region, will further heat the fire with high temperatures of around 30 degrees and great drought. Up to 5000 hectares are directly threatened. It was the biggest forest fire of the year in the wooded region of Catalonia, wrote the newspaper “El Periódico”. Ash has already reached parts of Barcelona.
In addition to the local fire brigades and forest fire fighting units, soldiers from the Spanish military had also been on duty against the flames since Sunday morning. Farmers in the region were asked to plow their fields immediately to create barriers against the flames. About 80 people in the region have had to leave their country houses since the fire broke out on Saturday afternoon for an unknown cause in the municipality of Santa Coloma de Queralt.
Just last weekend, a forest fire further north on the Costa Brava destroyed 415 hectares of forest in the nature reserve of Cap de Creus. dpa
