More than 500 firefighters are still battling the blaze assisted by 18 planes and helicopters. Reuters
Castell?n: More than 1,500 people were forced to leave their homes due to a large wildfire on Friday in eastern Valencia, Spain.
The incident is being seen as an addition to the mounting proof of the life-threatening effects of the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis and supporting the need for significant mitigation measures.
Spain’s first significant wildfire of the year, which started on Thursday in the town of Villanueva de Viver, has burned more than 7,400 acres of forest and prompted evacuation orders in eight communities across the province of Castell?n.
More than 500 firefighters were still battling the blaze on Friday afternoon, assisted by 18 planes and helicopters, as locals sought safety in shelters operated by the Red Cross and other charities.
According to a local authority quoted by Reuters, “strong winds and ‘practically summertime temperatures’ could reactivate the fire even though firefighters thought they were controlling the spread of the flames.”
“Summer is growing longer and coming earlier, and sadly, the amount of water and humidity in the soil is declining, making us significantly more vulnerable.”
The fire started “very early in the spring,” according to Ximo Puig, president of the Valencia region, and it was “very voracious from the beginning.”
Although the cause of the fire is still unknown, the area has experienced several months of dry weather, so there is no lack of dry fuel that can be used as kindling.
Climate scientists have long cautioned that as temperatures rise and droughts get worse due to unchecked greenhouse gas pollution, wildfire seasons will lengthen and there will be an increase in both the number and intensity of conflagrations.
“These fires we’re seeing, especially this early in the year, are once again proof of the climate emergency that humanity is living through, which particularly affects and ravages countries like ours,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S?nchez said in a statement to reporters in Brussels.
Atypically dry winter conditions in some southern European countries have decreased soil moisture and stoked concerns about a recurrence of the 2022 drought, according to Reuters.
According to the European Commission, wildfires burned nearly two million acres of territory in Europe last year, which is more than twice the annual average over the previous 16 years. 493 fires destroyed more than 750,000 acres in Spain alone.
Spain is preparing for drier and hotter weather this spring along its northeastern Mediterranean shore as residents already battle a protracted drought brought on by three years of below-average rainfall.
In particular, if the frequency, length, and intensity of heatwaves are similar to last year’s record-breaking heatwaves, experts have already begun to raise the alarm about the likelihood of another disastrous year for wildfires.
There is every cause to be concerned that this year will also see a number of significant events.
According to Spanish Environment Minister Teresa Ribera, “out-of-season fires” are becoming more frequent. “Summer is growing longer and coming earlier, and sadly, the amount of water and humidity in the soil is declining, making us significantly more vulnerable.”
Spain is not the only country in Europe experiencing a drought; according to a recent European Commission report, drought alerts have been issued for southern Spain, France, Ireland, Britain, northern Italy, Greece, and some areas of eastern Europe. Low water levels “could affect strategic sectors, including agriculture, hydropower, and energy production,” the commission “warned.”
“There is every reason to fear that this year too there will be numerous and widespread events,” Lorenzo Ciccarese from the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research told the outlet.
The United Nations issued a warning last year that wildfires are expected to rise by 30% by 2050 and by 50% by the end of the century as a result of emissions that warm the globe and changes in land use.
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