A massive wildfire in south-west Spain has forced the evacuation of over 500 people and led to a seven-hour lockdown at a local school as flames encircled a village. The blaze, which started on Wednesday evening, has burned at least 7,500 hectares in the Las Hurdes and Sierra de Gata areas of northern Extremadura.
More than 500 firefighters, including members of the military emergencies unit, are battling the fire, which regional authorities say was started deliberately. Strong winds of up to 60km/h are hampering efforts to control the blaze, according to Extremadura's president, Guillermo Fernández Vara.
Three villages—Cadalso, Descargamaría, and Robledillo de Gata—have been evacuated, and three main roads closed. Local emergency services urged people to avoid the affected areas to keep evacuation routes clear. The regional government deployed 10 earthmovers, six planes, eight helicopters, and 23 road vehicles to fight the fire.
Fernández Vara described the fire as “very large and difficult,” noting that pine trees and cones act as fuel. “The pine trees are like petrol cans and the pine cones are like flame-throwers,” he said. Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, cancelled a campaign trip to the region and offered support to those affected.
Residents expressed anger and helplessness. Marcos Hernández, from Pinofranqueado where the fire began, told Efe news agency that people felt “very angry” as the blaze continued. The area has seen devastating fires before, with 8,000 hectares burned in 2003 and over 5,000 hectares last July.
The wildfire comes amid a severe drought in Spain, which last week approved a €2.2bn plan to help farmers and consumers. Environment minister Teresa Ribera linked the increasing frequency and intensity of such events to climate change, stating, “Spain is a country that is used to periods of drought but there’s no doubt that, as a consequence of the climate change we’re experiencing, we’re seeing far more frequent and intense events and phenomena.”
