Forest fires across Spain devastate 16,000 hectares of land in recent days

Madrid, Aug 15 (EFE).- Wildfires across Spain continued raging Monday amid an intense heatwave and drought that have devastated over 16,000 hectares of land in recent days.

Firefighters were tackling a forest fire in the Vall de Ebo village in Alicante which has burned over 6,500 hectares so far and forced some 1,200 people to evacuate their homes.

The fire erupted on Saturday and has since spread due to strong winds and rough terrain which are making it difficult to extinguish, local authorities said.

Several fires near the northeastern city of Zaragoza were under control Monday after devastating some 6,000 hectares of land and forcing the evacuation of some 1,500 local residents.

Meanwhile, in the northwestern region of Galicia, 8 fires were still active near the city of Orense. The fires have devastated over 3,000 hectares of land.

This year, forest fires have been particularly catastrophic for Spain where the scorching heat and a prolonged drought have favored a myriad of fires.

From January to July this year, 222,000 hectares of land in Spain have been burned, according to data from The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). EFE

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