Fires in eastern Spain tamed after blaze ripped through 20,000 hectares
Valencia, Spain, Aug 20 (EFE).- Emergency services reported on Saturday that a wildfire in eastern Spain that has ravaged over 20,000 acres of land is finally under control after evolving favorably overnight.
The forest fire near Bejís grabbed headlines Wednesday after over a dozen passengers were injured, three seriously, in a panicked breakout from a train as it prepared to reverse away from a wildfire in the country’s eastern province of Castellón.
The fire advanced throughout the week and spilled into the neighboring province of Valencia, where emergency services worked overnight on Friday to contain the blaze in the Andilla area, according to emergency services.
Firefighters were struggling to put flames out in gullies that were difficult to access, the report added.
Nine forest firefighter units from the Valencian community have been working throughout the night with nine fire trucks, a volunteer brigade, eight firefighting crews from the Castellón regional government, a forest fire reinforcement brigade and 146 members of the Emergency Military Unit (UME).
At dawn, a 39-strong aerial mission was launched with units from the provinces of Valencia, Castile-la Mancha, Catalonia and Aragon assisting with efforts to contain the blaze.
The Olocau fire, in the vicinity of the Sierra Calderona, in the province of Valencia, is evolving favorably but is still active.
In the Vall d’Ebo, in the Marina Alta region of Alicante, the evolution of the blaze is also favorable.
A drone unit will monitor the wildfires with a thermal camera on Saturday, sources from local government emergencies services added.EFE
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