UPDATE: The fire near the Costa Brava, partly contained, has already burned 2,200 hectares
Global Update:
International observers are closely monitoring the latest developments as new information continues to emerge.
The damage is considerable. The fire which broke out on Friday morning near the tourist Costa Brava, in the north-east of Spain, was partially brought under control this Saturday but has already reduced 2,200 hectares of this area of the Catalan coast to smoke, without causing any injuries, according to firefighters. “The firefighters stabilized almost 70% of the right flank of the fire during the night and maintain the objective of consolidating it before the change in wind forecast for this midday,” indicated the Catalan fire fighters in a press release published this Saturday morning. “The fire, probably due to negligence, affected around 2,200 hectares of mainly forest vegetation,” they specified, adding that “containment [était] maintained in the [sept] municipalities concerned”. The fire started on Friday near the town of La Bisbal d’Empordà, near Girona, about twenty kilometers from the Mediterranean coast. “The population is asked to avoid any movement in the area,” the firefighters explain. Confined citizensApproximately 400 firefighters, including ten air teams, are hard at work trying to put an end to this outbreak. According to the Catalan fire chief, David Borrell, “the priority remains the protection of the population”. “When citizens remain confined, they are safer” and “anyone who is outside is exposed to unnecessary risk,” he insisted. The president of the Catalonia region is due to go there this Saturday morning.Located on the front line of climate change in Europe, Spain experienced last summer “the worst fires in its recent history”, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez recalled in May, with 393,000 hectares ravaged by flames according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). In these fires, more than 8,000 in total, 8 people were killed, 86 injured and more than 42,000 evacuated, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
Key Developments:
This event is already generating discussion among political analysts and international organizations worldwide.
Observers believe further developments could significantly shape the direction of this story in the near future.
Our editorial team will continue tracking this story as new reports become available.
Source: This article was originally published by 20Minutes – Actu Monde and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
Read the original article here.