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The first heat wave of this year in Spain, which will end this Saturday, this Thursday exposes almost the entire country to a extreme risk or very high forest fires. The main focus of forest fires is right now in Catalonia, along with another practically stabilized in Navarra and one more that originated in Zamora last morning.
The Firefighters of the Generalitat activated this Wednesday night the alert that forces all the members of the Corps to appear in the parks “as long as there are vehicles to work with”, due to the multiple forest fires declared in Catalonia, the most bass, two: on lerida Y Tarragona.
Extinction work continues on the fires of Segre trough (Lérida), which already affects some 500 hectares of vegetation, and Corbera d’Ebre (Tarragona), which has already devastated another 200 hectares.
For this reason, the Generalitat has asked to take extreme precautions in the face of the “maximum severity” situation due to a total of eight forest fires in Catalonia in the heat of the heat wave. Likewise, they have recalled that the Artesa de Segre fire has the potential to burn up to 20,000 hectares.
The delegate of the Government in Lleida, Bernat Solé, has explained that they are working so that two sections of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) support the Generalitat Firefighters in the fire that has been burning since this Wednesday in Artesa de Segre (Lleida). “Anything that can add up to put out fires as soon as possible will be welcome,” he said in statements to the press about the fire.
Although the operations center is maintained in Artesa, a part of the operation will go to Bellaterra (Barcelona), Solé has detailed: «This does not mean that this fire is neglected, on the contrary. But it is clear that we are in a situation of simultaneity. We have a lot open fires and the operation must be coordinated in a general way«.
The head of the Fire Department in the area, Miquel López, has detailed that they are working to prevent the fire from advancing towards the Segre, in the Right side, and that the left flank plan to tackle it already today. Regarding the fire in Corbera d’Ebre (Tarragona), he explained that it is already “in a more stabilized phase” -although it is not controlled-.
Fire closer to control in Navarra
The flames have slowed down their advance during the night and first thing in the morning it has been possible to reopen to traffic the Pyrenees Highway.
The most worrying fire started shortly before midnight on the slopes of Mount Arangoiti, in the Sierra de Leyre. The fire mainly affected an area pending Hard access by land, which has greatly complicated the work of extinction during the night. However, an improvement in the weather conditions, and the work of up to 200 troops, have made it possible to save the Leyre Monastery and by early morning the fire was almost stabilized.
Already with the light of day, aerial firefighting teams have also joined. It is expected that during the day they will discharge water on the area of flames that still continues active and it is difficult to access. In addition, they will be responsible for ensuring that the perimeter of the fire does not increase.
The intense fire last night forced the Navarre Government to activate the Level 2 emergency and to request the collaboration of the EMU. The emergency services also decided, as a precaution, to close the Autovía del Pirineo to traffic to prevent the intense smoke in the area from causing traffic accidents. The A-21 has been able to be reopened after seven in the morning.
Another of the night’s concerns was keeping the Leyre Monastery, one of the most visited historical monuments in the Comunidad Foral de Navarra, away from the flames. A sudden change in the direction of the wind has made it possible to save the historic complex, although the fire has remained just two kilometers from the site. As a precaution, last night the emergency services also decided evict the 22 monks who still reside in the monastery. All reservations for the hotel that houses the complex were also canceled and visits have been suspended.
Yesterday afternoon, fire brigades from Saragossa. At first they were working on the rest of the outbreaks that had been lit throughout the day in the province of Navarra and that little by little have been considered controlled. The most worrying was recorded in an area near the NA-132 road. They also arrived at the last minute 150 EMU troops who have spent the night in the fronton of Yesa.
From the Government of Navarra they make a call to extreme precautions. The dryness of the fire and the vegetation, together with the high temperatures recorded in recent days, mean that the risk of fire is very high throughout the Autonomous Community. Therefore, they ask the population to avoid any activity that carries the risk of causing a fire.
Complicated night in the Sierra de la Culebra
The Military Emergency Unit (UME) works in the extinction of a fire of Level 2 declared at dawn this Thursday in the town of Riofrío de Aliste (Zamora), in the heart of the Sierra de la Culebra.
The fire broke out before nightfall, but the flames reached their peak at 2:00 a.m., sources from the Government Subdelegation have informed Europa Press.
at least there are others three fires in the province of Zamorasome in areas of high environmental value, and in several of them aerial means also work accompanying the firefighters.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism