Skip to main content

Major wildfire in Spain forces the evacuation of 1,500

A firefighter plane drops a fire retardant on a burning area of San Martin de Unx in northern Spain, Sunday, June 19, 2022. A European heat wave has caused problems with fires in Germany and Spain. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses, File) A firefighter plane drops a fire retardant on a burning area of San Martin de Unx in northern Spain, Sunday, June 19, 2022. A European heat wave has caused problems with fires in Germany and Spain. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses, File)
Share
MADRID -

A large wildfire in northeast Spain grew rapidly overnight and was burning out of control Sunday, forcing the evacuation of eight villages and 1,500 people in Zaragoza province, firefighters said.

The head of the local Aragon government, Javier Lamban, said Sunday that the situation was critical in the town of Anon de Moncayo and the priority for the 300 firefighters fighting the blaze was to protect human lives and villages.

The wildfire, which was declared Saturday, developed a 50-kilometre (31-mile) perimeter in less than 24 hours, the local forest chief said. It's estimated burned surface could be up to 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres), state news agency EFE reported.

Those who fled took shelter in three different sports centers in nearby towns.

Firefighters said the outlook for taming the blaze depends on the weather, but gusty winds up to 60 kilometres (37 m.p.h.) were predicted.

Drought and extremely high temperatures in the Mediterranean country are turning 2022 into the worst year of the century in terms of fires.

So far this year, the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition has registered 43 large wildfires, which are those that have burned at least 500 hectares (1,250 acres). That is four times the amount of the previous year and a record for the last decade.

The European Forest Fire Information System says 248,674 hectares (615,000 acres) have burned in wildfires so far this year in Spain. That's almost four times the country's full-year average of 66,965 hectares (165,000 acres) since 2006, when records began.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

BUDGET 2024

BUDGET 2024 Feds cutting 5,000 public service jobs, looking to turn underused buildings into housing

Five thousand public service jobs will be cut over the next four years, while underused federal office buildings, Canada Post properties and the National Defence Medical Centre in Ottawa could be turned into new housing units, as the federal government looks to find billions of dollars in savings and boost the country's housing portfolio.

Local Spotlight