Nearly 865,000 acres burned in Spain over past 13 days amid raging wildfires
Nearly 350,000 hectares (865,000 acres) of land are estimated to have been burned over the past 13 days in Spain as the country still battles 22 active fires on Wednesday, Anadolu reports.
It is estimated that a total of 391,581 hectares (967,616 acres) have been burned in Spain so far this year, with 350,000 hectares burned in the last 13 days, the daily El Pais reported, citing the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).
There are currently 22 active fires with the highest risk level across the country, raging in the autonomous communities of Galicia, Castile and Leon, and Extremadura.
The alleged perpetrator of three simultaneous fires on Tuesday in Madrid has also been arrested.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Tuesday that the government will declare fire-hit regions disaster zones next Tuesday.
Portugal has also been battling with at least four active fires as of early Wednesday.
A 65-year-old man died on Tuesday night while fighting the fire in Mirandela, Braganca district, after being run over by the machine he was operating, according to the daily Diario De Noticias.
The man’s death raised Portugal’s wildfire death toll to three.
Citing provisional official data, the report said that more than 222,000 hectares (about 548,500 acres) had burned in the country by Aug. 20, exceeding the total area affected throughout 2024.
Earlier, it was reported Spain deploys another 500 soldiers to battle 20 big wildfires.