Published: Less than 2 hours ago
The worst summer in 15 years.
This is how the situation in Spain is described as a result of the extreme heat and the extensive fires that followed it.
In Castilla Y León alone, 6,000 people have been evacuated and two have died in recent days.
– It is an extreme situation. We can not control what is happening, says Bruno Rossi, a resident of Tarifa.
On Monday, Aemet, Spain’s state meteorological institute, announced that the latest heat wave – the second in a short time – was over.
Temperatures that last week reached well above the 40 mark have now dropped to around 30 around the country. The number of fires has also decreased drastically in recent days.
But the situation is still serious. On Wednesday, the fire brigade, which is supported by the military, fought 16 fires. Nine of them are so-called “class 2” fires, which is the second highest on the scale.
70,000 hectares have burned
The worst are in Galicia (northwestern Spain), Extremadura west of Madrid and north of the capital, in Castilla Y León.
In the latter region alone, two people – a firefighter and a farmer – have died as a result of the fires in recent days and more than 6,000 people have been evacuated.
In Extremadura, local authorities suspect that at least two fires have been started this past weekend. They have now gone out with an information to the public to report if they have seen any suspicious activity.
The summer as a whole is described as the worst in Spain in 15 years. About 70,000 hectares have burned up, according to Spanish media. That is more than twice the average over the last ten years.
“An extreme situation”
Some distance south of where the worst fires are raging, in the kitesurfing paradise of Tarifa, no clouds of smoke can be seen in the sky. The nearest ones have recently been seen a few hours drive east, around the popular resort of Malaga.
But the strong winds and drought that prevail here are a reminder of the difficult situation. Even if the extreme heat has temporarily subsided, the precondition for further severe fires is intact.
– All fields are completely dry from the heat and it is enough for someone to throw a cigarette butt somewhere for it to start a big fire. It is an extreme situation, he says Bruno Rossi36, who lives in Tarifa.
For him, there is no doubt that the extreme temperatures, and the fires that follow them, have a direct link to global warming.
– It is too high temperatures and we can not control what happens. That is what leads to these fires, he says.
The Prime Minister’s words
There is a fire ban in rural areas around the country. In some places, such as La Rioja, south of Bilbao, local authorities announced on Wednesday that their fire ban will extend until October 15.
Many Spaniards that Aftonbladet has spoken to are also worried about the future. Not just what could happen in the coming months, but years to come.
Fear is expressed for this type of extreme heat and fires are “part of the new normal”.
– There are those who continue to deny the emergency situation for our climate, who believe that this is a problem for the future when it happens right now. Climate change is killing, said Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez50, on Wednesday, according to the newspaper Lavanguardia.