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Spanish wildfires under control amid rain relief

DPA WORLD
Published August 18,2022
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A wildfire burning near Alcublas, Spain, August 17, 2022. (REUTERS Photo)

Long-awaited rains have aided emergency workers in subduing the fires in the eastern Spanish province of Valencia, authorities reported early on Thursday morning.

Spanish emergency services tweeted on Thursday that the spread of the fire has been arrested and that the flames could be extinguished in many areas.

Two wildfires in the Bejís region in the north, and in Vall d'Ebro in the south of Valencia have ravaged an area of around 21,000 hectares of land.

On Wednesday, the fires in the Bejís region forced a train to stop. Several passengers panicked and jumped out of the train, with five suffering significant burns, before the train backed out of the blazes and returned to its station of origin.

Some 2,000 people were evacuated from their homes amid the fires, of which some are now able to return, Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia and national television broadcaster RTVE reported.

2022 has been the worst year for forest fires since records began, with hundreds of wildfires throughout the summer destroying swathes of the countryside.

Forest fires have erupted across Europe amid dry conditions throughout the summer.

In Portugal, a forest fire around 80 kilometres north of Lisbon has also been brought under control by around 500 emergency workers, according to Portuguese news agency Lusa.

Experts consider climate change to be a major factor in the increasing number of wildfires. Climate change causes higher temperatures, which in turn leads to the dry conditions that allow fires to erupt and spread more easily and more quickly.