Officials have issued a dire warning that a ‘megafire’ could soon engulf the Extremadura region in Spain if urgent action isn’t taken. The western region is currently grappling with one of the most severe environmental crises in its recent history as forest fires ravage the area.
Over 30,000 hectares of land have already been scorched, making it one of the worst-hit regions during a summer that has seen woodlands, fields, and hills across Spain, Portugal, and France devastated.
The Jarilla fire in the province of Cáceres is the most critical, having razed more than 15,500 hectares. Now, Abel Bautista, Extremadura’s Minister of the Presidency, Interior, and Social Dialogue, has sounded the alarm as firefighters battle to bring the flames under control.
This comes on the heels of a warning to British tourists planning all-inclusive holidays to Spain.
Mr Bautista has cautioned that a “megafire” will imminently take hold if more resources aren’t allocated to combat the problem. He has criticised the slow response after a detailed list of necessary resources was compiled last Friday, only for them to arrive days later, according to OK Diario, reports the Mirror.
The politician has stressed that today (Tuesday, August 19) is the “key day” to control the blaze.
Mr Bautista has called on Pedro Sánchez’s government to “urgently send reinforcements,” including fire trucks, heavy machinery, and additional firefighters. The dry terrain of the sparse region and strong winds pose a risk of further spreading the flames.
The severity of the blaze has necessitated the evacuation of several towns and is pushing emergency services to their limits as they strive to control the fires, with fears that Jerte and Tornavacas could be next in line.
In response to the escalating situation, 100 soldiers have been dispatched to the region to combat the fires, bolstered by a Slovak Black Hawk helicopter equipped with 3,400 litres of water, set to be stationed at the forestry brigade base in Cáceres.
Extremadura, known for its wild, natural beauty due to its landlocked position on the Portuguese border, is a popular destination for nature lovers. It boasts significant wildlife reserves, including Monfragüe, declared a National Park in 2007, and the International Tagus River Natural Park.
Last night, the flames began to encroach upon the upper reaches of El Chorro, a dramatic canyon with a river coursing through it. Firefighters were successful in halting the fire before it could inflict substantial damage on one of the region’s most breathtaking locations.
Firefighting resources remain on high alert to prevent further devastation in the area.
Google’s wildfires satellite map offers up-to-the-minute data on the spread of the fires across the region, which now span hundreds of thousands of acres in Portugal and Spain alone.
It was announced last night that an additional 500 troops have been deployed by Spain to tackle the rampant wildfires, bringing the total number to 1,900, as the death toll from the blazes has tragically risen to four.
As habitats are destroyed and lives lost due to the fire, it’s alarming to consider that such natural disasters are becoming increasingly frequent. The summer of 2024 was Europe’s hottest on record, according to BBC Weather and Copernicus Climate Change Service.
This year hasn’t been much better. From mid-June to early July, Western Europe experienced its highest average temperatures for this period in decades, and the hottest June on record.
Temperatures rocketed above 40°C, reaching up to 46°C in Spain and Portugal, as reported by Nature.
Human-induced global warming is largely to blame. Across 12 major European cities this year, about 1,500 of an estimated 2,300 heat-related deaths were driven by the extra heat resulting from fossil-fuel emissions, according to a report by the Grantham Institute.