Forest fires sweep across Galicia, Asturias and Castilla y León

NORTH-WESTERN Spain is on high alert due to a string of wildfires which have already wiped out over 2,500 hectares (about 6,200 acres) in three regions, sparked by the unusually-high temperatures over Easter weekend and still burning.

Mayor of Ferrol (A Coruña province, Galicia) Jorge Suárez calls the inferno 'an environmental tragedy', with 450 hectares (1,110 acres) having been destroyed in his and the neighbouring town, Val de Narón.

Miraculously, nobody has been hurt, despite the flames spreading across several municipalities – one in Oza-Cesuras is creeping dangerously close to O Picheiro, part of Ferrol's tied hamlet of Covas – and the blaze in Vizoño is now under control with those in As Pontes and Negreira extinguished.

Galicia is also under threat from the forest fires burning in Portugal's Peneda Gerés National Park, barely 10 or 20 kilometres south of the Ourense province border in Galicia, although at present, these seem to be under control.

To the south-east of Galicia, in Castilla y León, flames continue to rage as the Armed Forces emergency response unit and firefighters battle against infernos in Peñalba de Santiago (León province) and Nieva (Segovia province).

The worst so far in Castilla y León broke out three days ago on Wednesday in Bouzas, in the Tebaida mountains of the province of León, with nearly 2,000 hectares destroyed and residents in neighbouring villages including San Clemente and Valdueza concerned after they became surrounded by a wall of flames.

In the case of the Bouzas fire, spokeswoman for the regional government Milagros Marcos says 'everything points to its being the work of an arsonist'.

Also in Castilla y León, the SA-804 road in Cabrerizos (Salamanca province) was shut for several days due to dense smoke from a blaze in a mountainous area known as Los Caennes but which, fortunately, is some distance from the nearest residential area.

The flames even reached the railway line which links Salamanca city with Madrid via the capital of the neighbouring province, Ávila, causing delays for passengers.

But so far, the worst-hit region is Asturias, which borders Galicia to the east and backs onto the Atlantic coast, with 28 forest fires on the go since Good Friday and affecting 13 towns and villages.

Asturias' regional government has even called in the national government's ministry of agriculture, asking it to send the largest hydro-helicopter in its fleet.

The town of Llanes has 10 active fires and two currently under control, plus another three are still burning in Cangas de Onís and one each in Cabranes, Peñamellera Baja and Parres, with about a dozen split between the municipalities of Allande, Ibias, Valdes, Villayón, Tineo, Belmonte and Grandas.

Regional minister for presidency in Asturias, Guillermo Martínez, says the exact number of fires burning is still not possible to count, but that 'the majority of them, as is usually the case' are believed to have been started deliberately.

Winds are expected to die down over the weekend, but the calm will come with a rise in temperatures, meaning that although emergency services' work will be easier, more fires could break out.

The photograph shows the fire brigade working on a blaze which started on Thursday this week in Val de Narón (A Coruña province).