A firefighter was killed when a fire truck overturned and fell down a steep slope during an operation to combat the severe fires raging in northwestern Spain. In total, four people have lost their lives in the forest fires that have ravaged the area for over a week, according to the authorities.
An area almost five times the size of Stockholm has been burned in the worst-affected regions of Castile-León, Galicia, Asturias, and Extremadura.
Warning to hikers
The authorities in Castile-León are now warning hikers along the pilgrimage route Camino de Santiago, which is a popular tourist destination with thousands of visitors. The part of the hike that connects the cities of Astorga, Ponferrada, and Bembibre is dangerous, according to the authorities, and hikers are urged not to continue on the route.
Military personnel have been deployed to combat the fires and around 3,500 soldiers have been dispatched to the affected areas to participate in the extinguishing work. Air support from France and Italy has also arrived.
Deaths in Portugal
In neighboring Portugal, which has also been affected by severe fires, a firefighter has lost his life and two others have been seriously injured in a traffic accident in connection with an operation. It was previously known that the former mayor of the town of Planta, Carlos Damasco, died when he participated in attempts to extinguish the fires.
Around 2,000 firefighters have been deployed in northern and central Portugal, of which about half have been mobilized to combat the flames in the town of Arganil. The country is also waiting for two planes to help with water bombing.
Extensive destruction
The forest fires in Spain have destroyed record-sized areas this year. The burned area is over 343,000 hectares, which corresponds to almost half a million football fields, according to Effis, an institution within the EU that monitors the fire situation in Europe using satellite images.
In Portugal, around 216,000 hectares have burned this year. The country also holds the dismal European record from 2017 when 563,000 hectares burned and 119 people died.
