Spain’s first major wildfire of the year rages in Valencia region as 1,500 residents abandon homes

Spain’s first major forest fire of the year raged in the eastern region of Valencia on Friday, where it forced 1,500 residents to leave their homes and destroyed more than 7,400 hectares of forest.

An unusually dry winter in parts of southern Europe has reduced soil moisture and raised fears of a 2022 repeat, when 785,000 hectares were destroyed across the continent.

This is more than double the annual average of the past 16 years, according to statistics from the European Commission (EC).

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told a press conference in Brussels that the fires are evidence of the “climate crisis that humanity is experiencing.”

In Spain last year, 493 fires destroyed a record 307,000 hectares of land, according to the Commission’s European Forest Fire Information System.

An unusually dry winter in parts of southern Europe has reduced soil moisture and raised fears of a 2022 repeat, when 785,000 hectares were destroyed across the continent. Pictured is smoke rising from a wildfire burning below as a firefighting plane flies over San Agustin, Spain

More than 500 firefighters, supported by 18 aircraft and helicopters, worked through the night and on Friday to battle the blaze near the village of Villanueva de Viver, in the Valencia region. In the photo, a military plane drops water on a forest fire in San Agustin, Spain

More than 500 firefighters, supported by 18 aircraft and helicopters, worked through the night and on Friday to battle the blaze near the village of Villanueva de Viver, in the Valencia region.

Emergency services have evacuated eight communities, said Gabriela Bravo, the regional chief of the interior.

Local resident Maria Antonia Montalaz, who was evacuated from nearby Montanejos, said: “We didn’t sleep well because of the fear, wondering if our house had burned down and thinking about the animals we have.”

While firefighters thought they managed to control the spread of the flames, high winds and “practically summer temperatures” could reactivate it, Bravo said.

Spain is facing a prolonged drought after three years of below-average rainfall.

Weather this spring will be drier and hotter than usual along Spain’s northeastern Mediterranean coast, increasing the risk of wildfires, meteorological agency AEMET told Reuters last week.

Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said “out of season fires” are becoming more common.

“Summer is getting longer, it arrives earlier and the availability of water and moisture in the soil is unfortunately decreasing, which makes us much more vulnerable,” she told reporters in Cadiz.

A report from the European Commission this month found a lack of rain and warmer-than-normal temperatures during the winter, prompting drought warnings for southern Spain, France, Ireland, Britain, northern Italy, Greece and parts of eastern -Europe.

“There is every reason to fear that numerous and widespread events will also take place this year,” said Lorenzo Ciccarese, a researcher at the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) in Rome.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told a press conference in Brussels (pictured on Friday) that the fires are evidence of the “climate emergency humanity is experiencing”

In Spain, 493 fires destroyed a record 307,000 hectares of land last year, according to the Commission’s European Forest Fire Information System (pictured, helicopter dropping water on a forest fire in San Agustin)

While firefighters thought they managed to control the spread of the flames, high winds and “practically summer temperatures” were able to reactivate it (a firefighter is pictured during a forest fire in Fuente de la Reina)

Spain is experiencing a prolonged drought after three years of below-average rainfall (pictured, a plume of smoke from a forest fire in Fuente de la Reina on Friday)

Weather this spring will be drier and hotter than usual along Spain’s northeastern Mediterranean coast, raising the risk of wildfires, meteorological agency AEMET told Reuters last week (pictured, a plume of smoke during a wildfire in Fuente de la Renta)

According to the National Observatory of Athens, winter in Greece was the warmest for the northern regions in more than a decade.

A lack of rain and a decrease in humidity on land will aid in the spread of wildfires when there are heat waves, said Christos Zerefos, head of the Athens Academy Research Center for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology.

The Commission’s report warned that low water levels could affect strategic sectors such as agriculture, hydropower and energy production.

According to official estimates, olive oil production in the European Union will fall by half for 2022-2023 compared to the previous season, largely due to a drop in production from Spain due to the drought.

Drought has also affected production in Portugal and Italy.