The first major fire in Spain this year, which claimed the lives of about 1,500 people, is now uncontrollable in the eastern part of the country due to conditions favorable for its spread.

“We are dealing with a fire that is quite typical of summer,” Manolo Nicolás, a spokesman for firefighters in the province of Castellón, where the fire broke out, told public radio station RNE.

Speaking from Brussels, where he attended the European summit, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that such a “fire at such an early time of the year is further evidence of the climate emergency facing humanity and which particularly affects countries like ours.” .

“All I can ask” of the population is to show the greatest prudence in the face of “this terrible fire,” he insisted, promising to “allocate all resources” to extinguish it.

According to the regional government of Valencia, where the province of Castellón is located, 450 firefighters, supported by 22 aircraft, are fighting the flames, which reduced 30,000 hectares of vegetation to ashes.

Large amount of fuel

This fire took place yesterday, Thursday afternoon in the Villanueva de Viver region and prompted the evacuation of about 1,500 people in the Valencia region and neighboring Aragon, Aitana Mas, deputy head of the regional government of Valencia, explained.

There are “ideal elements for a campfire with these characteristics,” stressed Manolos Nicholas, citing a drought in recent months that has created “a lot of fuel,” mostly dry brush and undergrowth in the forests.

He also stressed the influence of the east wind, which will intensify in the coming hours, making it difficult for firefighters to work.

The area of ​​greatest concern is near the tourist resort of Montanejos, which had to be evacuated while its hotels were full, Mayor Miguel Santalinas told RNE.

“Today the temperature will be 30 degrees,” and we are “only in March,” he added, denouncing the effects of “climate change.”

Source: RES-IPE