Spanish firefighters over 130 fires in winter
Hundreds of firefighters are battling more than 130 wind-fueled wildfires in northern Spain amid an unusual dry spell.
In Cantabria, local officials said 99 percent of the fires have been started deliberately. Some 400 firefighters and soldiers were working to contain 82 wildfires that have been burning in the region over the past week.
In the regions of Asturias and Basque Country, wildfires are being fueled by high winds of up to 110 kilometers (70 miles) an hour.
Two fires were also said to be raging in the northeastern region of Navarra, located along the border with France.
Cantabria’s regional government said at least 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) of land of “extraordinary ecological value,” including two natural parks, has been destroyed.
“This threatens the present and future of Cantabria’s landscape,” head of the Cantabria regional government Miguel Angel Revilla said.
“There are arsonists, people with bad intentions who are taking advantage of weather conditions never seen before in Cantabria,” he said.
The fires are an unusual phenomenon in regions that skirt the rough seas of the Bay of Biscay and are normally rainy, especially in
winter.
The Spanish national weather office says winds will remain strong and temperatures above average in the coming days.
Spain’s forestry association head Raul de la Calle, however, said the fires do not yet pose a threat to inhabited areas.
More than 54,000 hectares (13,300 acres) of agricultural and forest land in Spain have been destroyed by fires so far this year.
The fires come as northern Spain has been witnessing a shortage of rain. The country is vulnerable to wildfires during its hot season. Its southern region or areas along the Mediterranean coast are more prone to wildfires.
EU ministers agree on new Iran sanctions after attacks on Israel
Spanish protesters call for end of arms trade with Israel
Austria arrests director of Gaza-based news agency due to Israel pressure
200 days of Israeli war on Gaza and 200 headlines whitewashing genocide
VIDEO | 200 days of US-Israeli genocide
Iran’s security chief in Russia to underline Israel’s aggression
VIDEO | Smoke rises from Gaza as fighting continues
ICRC decries escalating Israeli raids across occupied West Bank
Israel still prevents food convoys from reaching north of Gaza: UNRWA
NYPD arrests multitude of pro-Palestine students at NYU campus
Iran’s decisive response to Israel disrupted enemy’s equations: Hamas
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
