Out of control forest fire in Spain destroys 1,100 hectares
The Forestry Commission of Catalonia, Spain, announced today, Sunday, through the social networking site "Twitter" that a forest fire about 100 kilometers west of Barcelona destroyed 1,100 hectares of forests and agricultural land.
There are fears that the winds, which usually start around midday in the area, could further fan the fire due to temperatures of around 30 degrees and severe drought. The fire directly threatens up to 5,000 hectares.
The newspaper "El Periodico" reported that this is the largest forest fire of the year so far in the densely forested region of Catalonia. The ashes have already reached parts of Barcelona.
In addition to local firefighting teams and forest firefighting units, Spanish armed forces soldiers have been working to put out the fires since this morning. The farmers in the area were called to immediately plow their fields in order to form barriers against the fire.
(EPA)
About 80 people in the area have had to leave their homes since the fire broke out on Saturday. It was not clear what caused the fire.
Early last week, a forest fire in the Costa Brava, to the north of the area, destroyed 415 hectares of forest in the Cap de Creos Nature Reserve.
