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8 August 2008
ZARAGOZA – Hundreds of Spanish firefighters and soldiers were Thursday combating wildfires that devastated thousands of hectares of forest and bush, officials said.
A wildfire raged near Zaragoza for the third day after burning down 2,200 hectares of vegetation.
Another blaze, near Segovia, destroyed more than 1,000 hectares of vegetation including parts of an ecologically valuable pine forest.
About 400 people were evacuated in both areas, but returned home later on.
The Zaragoza blaze was sparked by a car which caught fire in a traffic accident. The cause of the Segovia fire was being investigated.
About 50 people were also evacuated in Lliber near Alicante, where a smaller fire swept over an area measuring three hectares.
More than half of the Spanish territory is estimated to be at a high risk of fires during a season when temperatures can rise up to about 40 degrees Celsius.
[dpa / Expatica]
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