Madrid: According to emergency services, a wildfire in the Extremadura region of western Spain has burned up to 3,700 acres and displaced 550 people, complicating efforts to contain it with the windy weather.
A commander of the Military Emergency Unit, David Barona, told state TV channel 24H that there were "very strong gusts of wind generating a speed and progress that make efforts to put it out difficult."
The low spreading altitude of the smoke plume makes it challenging for air assets to reach the area. In the Caceres province, close to the Portuguese border, in a place called Pinofranqueado, up to 250 firefighters are battling the blaze.
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Up to 550 residents of the villages of Cadalso, Descargamara, and Robledillo de Gata have been ordered to leave. Authorities think that the fire was intentionally started.
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Nieves Villar, the director of emergency services for Extremadura, told reporters, "It's a very significant attack on vegetation and the area." The risk of wildfires has increased due to an unusually dry winter in parts of southern Europe and three years of below-average rainfall in Spain.
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According to the European Forest Fire Information System, a record 307,000 hectares of land were destroyed by 493 fires in Spain last year.