Hundreds of people were evacuated as a wildfire which broke out on Thursday (March 23) continued to rage on the next day, in Spain’s eastern Castellón region on Friday (March 24). The incident also marked an early start to the country’s fire season amid dry conditions. According to reports, firefighters were alerted about a blaze near Villanueva de Viver in the region of Valencia just before 1:00 pm (local time) on Thursday.
Subsequently, at least ten aeroplanes were dispatched in a bid to douse the blaze, while at least three villages had to be evacuated, as per local media reports. According to emergency services, 600 people in eight towns have been evacuated and they have set up a refuge as well as a field hospital for them.
The President of the Valencia region which includes Castellón, Ximo Puig while addressing reporters said, at least 1,000 hectares of land have been engulfed by the wildfire since it broke out on Thursday. He added, “very early in the spring, very voracious from the beginning,” reported the Associated Press.
The president of the Valencian government also attributed this to climate change and said that its effects are “undeniable, so the perspective of firefighting must be considered on an annual basis.” As of early Friday, four helicopters and more than 600 firefighters and soldiers from the Spanish military had been deployed to control the fire. Furthermore, fifteen planes, seaplanes and helicopters were also working to extinguish the flames, said the Valencia rescue service.
This comes after scientists in the European Union, earlier this month, said that winter 2022-23 in the northern hemisphere was the second warmest on record and unusually dry. In a tweet, the state weather agency, AEMET also attributed the rapid spread of fire to “unfavourable weather conditions, considering the early date of the year”.
The risk of more wildfires in the region was classified as “extreme” on Friday. According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), last year was the worst on record for Spain which witnessed 493 wildfires that destroyed 307,000 hectares of land.
(With inputs from agencies)
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