The fire, which broke out in the municipality of Añón de Moncayo on Saturday, was active on Sunday in a radius of 50 kilometers, “estimated between 8,000 and 10,000” hectares, within which the area burned, estimated “in the thousands”, is not yet known determined, said the Aragon emergency services.
The “rapid spread” of the flames, fanned by the wind, was described as “critical” by the region’s president, Javier Lambán, in a speech to the press.
1,500 evacuees
At least 1,500 people have been evacuated in this rural area, which includes a natural park in Zaragoza province, the regional government said. About 300 firefighters are fighting the flames, supported by helicopters.
Since the beginning of the year, 388 fires have destroyed almost 261,930 hectares in Spain, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). This is the heaviest record of the countries of the European Union this year and the most important in Spain since 2000, the year of the first measurements.
These fires were fueled by unusually high temperatures this summer in Spain, which has already experienced three heat waves in just two months.