The fire started in the early afternoon from the Valencia region before spreading to the Aragon region.
More than a thousand people had to be evacuated Thursday in the Spanish regions of Valencia (southeast) and Aragon (northeast) where forest fires have already burned some 900 hectares, according to the authorities.
The fire started in the early afternoon from Villanueva de Viver, a small town in Castellón (Valencia region) and spread to the province of Teruel (Aragon region).
The region of Valencia initially announced that six villages had been evacuated, i.e. some 800 people, while the region of Aragon announced a little later on Twitter “the evacuation of the locality of Olba”, which has more than 200 inhabitants.
“We had very dry months, without any rain,” Valencian government interior secretary Salva Almenar told reporters.
More than 900 hectares gone up in smoke
Valencia region government delegate Pilar Bernabé announced on Twitter around 8 p.m. GMT that the fire had “already burned 900 hectares”.
Four hundred firefighters, rescuers and soldiers, fifteen planes, seaplanes and helicopters fought against the fire until nightfall, then having to suspend their operations, according to the Valencia rescue service.
A field hospital has been set up nearby and the Red Cross has opened a reception center for evacuees in a gymnasium in the town of Segorbe.
Spain was hit last summer by some 500 fires that scorched more than 300,000 hectares, becoming the most affected European country, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.
