Fueled by a heat wave that travels throughout Europe and strong gusts of wind, a fire continues Thursday to ravage a rural area of Catalonia, north-east of Spain. More than 5,500 hectares were devoured by the flames.
Some 350 firefighters, about 230 soldiers and fifteen air units were mobilized to curb the advance of the fire, started Wednesday afternoon near the village of La Torre del Espanyol.
"The situation is critical," Fire Chief Antonio Ramos told the media. According to him, "we must go back 20 years to see a similar fire" in the region.
The fire could devour a total of 20,000 hectares in this region covered with orchards, olive groves and vineyards, according to a statement from the Regional Government of Catalonia.
The spread of fire has been accelerated by strong winds and rising temperatures in the Ebro Valley. Temperatures approached 35 degrees on Wednesday, and could surpass 40 on Thursday and Friday.
The fire may have been caused by a "build-up of manure on a farm, which generated enough heat to explode and spark," according to regional interior minister Miquel Buch.
About 50 people have been evacuated, according to the regional government.
In La Torre de l'Espanyol, a farm was ravaged by the fire and more than 200 sheep were killed, as well as at least two horses and one donkey, an AFP photographer said.
The Ebro Valley is one of the hottest areas in Spain, touched like a large part of Europe by a heat wave from the Sahara Desert. Several temperature records for a month of June have already fallen.
The heat wave is expected to increase with temperatures sometimes exceeding 40 degrees Thursday and Friday in Spain, France and Greece.
With AFP