Local authorities said on Tuesday that a wildfire in the Galicia region of northwest Spain had destroyed 1,000 hectares of forest.
The fire near the small town of Ribas de Sil started on Monday afternoon, and huge smoke filled the air, blocking local roads and train lines.
Regional environmental director Manuel Rodriguez said at a press conference that the fire was “obviously intentional.”
“The investigators have identified multiple points that are ignited at the same time… whoever does this knows very well that this will cause a lot of damage,” he said.
You can’t explain this… it’s hard to put yourself in the mind of someone who wants to do this.
The authorities have issued an alert to residents of the village of Rairos that the village may be on the path of the fire, but stated that no houses are currently in danger.
The Spanish military emergency response force sent reinforcements to support the local fire brigade. The team deployed 49 ground teams, 8 aircraft and 14 helicopters to extinguish the fire-but these troops have not yet been able to control the fire.
Rodriguez said: “We have a perimeter around the fire, but it is not stable or controlled.”
On Monday night, the hot weather and low humidity complicated the firefighters’ work and communications were interrupted.
So far this year, wildfires in Spain have ravaged 74,260 hectares, which is higher than the average of the past 10 years, but it is still a long way from the 190,000 hectares destroyed in 2012 (the worst year of the past decade).
According to data from the Ministry of the Environment, 7 of the hottest 10 years on record in Spain occurred in the past decade.
This year, there have been unusually large-scale wildfires around the world. Experts call extremely hot and dry conditions a symptom of climate change.
