Astorga, Spain (Reuters)-The worst wave of Spain forest fires in at least two decades spread over the slopes of Peaks of Europe on Monday, and led the authorities to close part of the popular Pilgrimage Route of Santiago.
“This is a fire situation that we haven’t experienced for 20 years,” Defense Minister Margarita Robles told Cadena Ser.
“The fires have special characteristics as a result of climate change and this huge heat wave,” which extends for 16 days, she added, referring to one of the longest heat waves of the last 50 years, which raised temperatures to 45 degrees Celsius over the weekend.
Unique opportunity
Legacy Card: Far beyond a service
It is expected to start decreasing Monday night or Tuesday.
South Europe is undergoing one of the worst seasons of forest fires in the last two decades, and Spain and neighboring Portugal have been among the most affected countries.
So far, this year, about 344,400 hectares have been burned in Spain, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis)-the largest area in its records dating back to 2006 and more than four times the average of 2006-2024.
Continues after advertising
Robles said the dense smoke was hindering the work of water bombing planes.
The Spanish army sent 1,900 soldiers to help the firefighters.
Last week alone, about 20 forest fires devastated thousands of hectares in the regions of Galicia and Castile and Lion, forcing the authorities to interrupt rail services in the area, as well as in a 50 km stretch of the “Camino de Santiago”, an old pilgrimage route traveled by thousands of people in summer.
Continues after advertising
He connects France to the city of Santiago de Compostela, in the far west of Spain, where the remains of the apostle St. James are said to be buried.
“Terrible thing”
Patrice Lepettre, a 75 -year -old pilgrim in Astorga, told Reuters that the discomfort for tourists was temporary and could not be compared to the situation of local residents.
Continues after advertising
“It’s a terrible thing for the population. Pilgrims can go home and come another year to finish their way, but for people who live here, it’s a terrible thing,” he said.
A firefighter died when his truck hit near the spinal village of compludo, increasing the death toll to four.
In Portugal, forest fires have burned around 216,200 hectares so far this year, according to Effis-more than four times the average of 2006-2024 for this period-and two people have died.
