BARRACAS, Spain (Portal) – Officials urged “fire tourists” to stay away from blazes raging in eastern Spain on Sunday, saying bystanders are endangering themselves and disrupting efforts to quell the blazes.
More than 500 firefighters, supported by 20 planes and helicopters, battled the blaze four days after it broke out near the village of Villanueva de Viver in the Valencia region, emergency services said.
Police had spotted 14 cyclists near the scene trying to take a closer look, Gabriela Bravo, the regional head of internal affairs for the Valencia region, told reporters.
“We ask once again, and especially tourists, not to engage in fire tourism, not to approach the perimeter area,” she said.
Spain’s first major wildfire of the year has destroyed more than 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres) of forest and forced 1,700 villagers to flee their homes in the Valencia and Aragon regions, officials said.
Local residents said the fire could have a devastating impact on the local economy, which depends on tourism.
“People here live from cycling, hiking and the few pubs,” says Jorge Grausell, 72.
“You see that and it’s a disaster for anyone who likes the great outdoors.”
An unusually dry winter in parts of southern Europe has raised fears of a repeat of last year’s devastating wildfires.
About 785,000 hectares were destroyed in Europe last year, more than double the annual average over the last 16 years, based on European Commission (EC) statistics.
In Spain, 493 fires destroyed a record 307,000 hectares of land last year, according to the Commission’s European Forest Fire Information System.
Reporting by Graham Keeley, Miguel Gutierrez, Guillermo Martinez; Edited by Andrew Heavens
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