Forest fires reach the southern slopes of the Spanish Mountains of Picos de Europa
The worst wave of prescription from Spain, registered, spread to the southern slopes of the Picos mountains of Europa on Monday and prompted the authorities to close part of the popular Pilgrimage Route Camino de Santiago.
“This is a fire situation that we have not known for 20 years,” said Defense Minister Margarita Robles to Cadena Ser Radio.
“Fires have special characteristics due to climate change and this huge heat wave,” she said.
The heat wave covering 16 days is the third longer ever recorded and sent temperatures up to 45 ° C this weekend, according to the AEMET state-meteorological agency. It should start to alleviate on Monday evening or Tuesday.
Southern Europe is one of its worst forest seasons in two decades, Spain and Portugal among the hardest countries.
Until now this year, around 344,400 hectares have burned in Spain – an area equivalent to the size of the island of Mallorca – according to the information system on the fires of the European forest (EFPIS).
It is the largest area of the files that date back to 2006 and more than four times the 2006-2024 average.
A firefighter died when his truck crashed near the village of Espinoso de Compludo, increasing the number of deaths to four of the recent wave of fire.
The military firefighters continued to try to repel the unleashed forest fires in Spain on Monday, where the authorities were forced to reduce rail services in certain regions and to close a section of the Camino de Santiago, a former pilgrimage path visited by thousands of tourists every summer.
In Portugal, forest fires have burned around 216,200 hectares so far this year, according to Effis – more than four times the 2006-2024 average for this period – and two people died.
The Spanish army has deployed 3,000 soldiers and 50 planes to help firefighters said Virginia Barcones, director general of emergency services. Spain also receives or has received aid from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Germany and the Czech Republic through the European Civil Protection Mechanism, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
During the last week only, around twenty forest fires devastated thousands of hectares in the regions of Galicia and Castile and Léon, forcing the authorities to cut rail services in the region, as well as a 50 -kilometer stretch of the Camino de Santiago, a former pilgrim path in thousands in summer.
It connects France and the city of Santiago de Compostela on the western tip of Spain, where the remains of the Apostle St. James would be buried.
‘A terrible thing’
Patrice Lepetre, a 75 -year -old pilgrim in Astorga, told Reuters that the disadvantages of hikers were temporary and could not be compared to the fate of the inhabitants.
“This is a terrible thing for the population. Pilgrims can go home and come another year to finish the Camino, but for people who live here, it’s a terrible thing,” he said.
The leaders of the regions led by the main party of opposition people (PP) criticized the central government for poor planning and have requested more resources to fight forest fires.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged a “state pact” on climate change on Sunday with all the main political forces, which was rejected on Monday as a “diversion” by the spokesperson for the PP, Ester Munoz.
The Ministry of the Interior said that 27 people had been arrested and 92 were investigated for an alleged criminal fire since June.
In Palacios de Jamuz in the northern region of Castile and Leon, where a forest fire launched rows of whole houses, Delia Lobato inspected damage and deplored the death of people and trees.
“Such young people who had all their lives and who left, it is the most difficult thing,” she said.
“We are going to plant again, and if I don’t see it growing well, my children will do it.”
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