Officials report that Spain’s first significant wildfire of the year has destroyed over 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres) of forest and forced 1,700 villagers to flee their homes in the Valencia and Aragon regions.
Due to the early arrival of wildfire season in eastern Spain, “fire tourists” have been warned to stay away from the raging blazes.
According to officials, bystanders have endangered themselves and impeded efforts to extinguish fires.
Four days after it broke out near the village of Villanueva de Viver in the Valencia region. Emergency services reported that more than 500 firefighters, aided by 20 aircraft and helicopters, were combating a fire.
Valencia’s interior minister, Gabriela Bravo, told reporters that cops saw fourteen cyclists trying to get closer.
“We strongly urge tourists not to engage in fire tourism and to stay away from the perimeter,” she said.
The first significant wildfire of the year in Spain has destroyed over 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres) of forest. And forced 1,700 villagers from their homes in the Valencia and Aragon regions of eastern Spain, according to officials.
People have recalled leaving behind their pets as they fled their residences.
Residents stated that the fire could have a detrimental effect on the tourism-dependent local economy.
“The locals subsist on cycling, hiking, and the few bars,” said 72-year-old Jorge Grausell.
This is a catastrophe for anyone who appreciates nature.
Friday, the administrator of the Valencia region, Ximo Puig, told reporters that the fire was “very early in the spring and very voracious from the start.”
He added that the effects of climate change “are undeniable, so the firefighting perspective must be evaluated annually.”
Southern Europe’s dry winter raised concerns of a replay of last year’s devastating wildfires.
According to statistics from the European Commission (EC), 785 000 hectares were devastated in Europe in 2012, which is more than double the annual average for the previous sixteen years.
According to the European Forest Fire Information System of the European Commission. 493 fires ravaged a record 307,000 hectares of land in Spain in 2017.
