the first major forest fire of the season breaks out near Valencia, 1,500 people evacuated

About 700 Spanish firefighters were fighting the first major forest fire of the year on Saturday March 25. The fire got out of control 48 hours after it started, and led to the evacuation of 1,500 people from a town north of Valencia, in the east of the country.

Regional rescue services said on Twitter that the fire, which has already covered 3,900 hectares in Villanueva de Viver, 90 km north of Valencia, was “a high difficulty fire accompanied by weather conditions similar to those of summer”. The same source said the 1,500 residents had to leave their homes on Friday. The firefighters added that the 700 men who fight the fire are assisted by about twenty aerial vehicles.

“Weather conditions (…) almost summer”

“The fire is not stabilized and continues with great ferocity due to the weather conditions which are almost summery”reported Ximo Puig, the president of the Valencia region, on Spanish television RTVE.

In 2022, a dark year for forest fires in Europe, Spain was the most affected country on the continent, with nearly 500 fires that ravaged more than 300,000 hectares, according to the European Fire Information System of forest (Effis).