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30 July 2004
MADRID – Spanish fire services said Friday they had gained control of the worst forest blaze to strike the huge southern region of Andalusia since 1991.
The blaze killed two people and forced about 1,000 to flee their homes.
Almost 25,000 hectares (62,500 acres) of forest, scrubland and pasture had been reduced to ash before firefighters mastered the blaze early Friday, they said.
The fire broke out on Tuesday in the province of Huelva, which borders on Portugal, and six villages were evacuated by the end of the day.
At the height of the blaze, some 550 fire-fighters had been mobilised with the help of 40 aircraft.
The authorities said it was possible that the fire was started deliberately in the village of Minas de Riotinto in Huelva.
[Copyright EFE with Expatica]
Subject: Spanish news