Spain wildfires close parts of famous pilgrimage trail - firefighter died in fire engine crash
Thank you for choosing Automatic Translation. Currently we are offering translations from English into French and German, with more translation languages to be added in the near future. Please be aware that these translations are generated by a third party AI software service. While we have found that the translations are mostly correct, they may not be perfect in every case. To ensure the information you read is correct, please refer to the original article in English. If you find an error in a translation which you would like to bring to our attention, it would help us greatly if you let us know. We can correct any text or section, once we are aware of it. Please do not hesitate to contact our webmaster to let us know of any translation errors.
Spain is grappling with its worst wildfire season in two decades, as blazes intensified by a record-breaking heatwave have scorched over 344,000 hectares nationwide—an area larger than the island of Mallorca.
Among the hardest-hit regions are Galicia, Castile and León, where authorities have shut down a 50-kilometer stretch of the famed Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route between Astorga and Ponferrada.
The closure comes amid a 16-day heatwave that pushed temperatures to 45°C (113°F), fuelling more than 20 wildfires and forcing evacuations, rail service cuts, and emergency deployments. Spain’s army has mobilized 3,000 troops and 50 aircraft to assist firefighters, while thick smoke continues to hamper aerial efforts2.
A firefighter has died in the line of duty, when a fire truck crashed near Espinoso de Compludo.
Defense Minister Margarita Robles described the situation as “a fire emergency we haven’t experienced in 20 years,” attributing the severity to climate change and extreme weather patterns.
The Spanish military has mobilized 1,900 soldiers to support firefighting efforts as wildfires continue to ravage the country. Over the past week, roughly 20 blazes have scorched vast swaths of land across Galicia and Castile and León, prompting officials to suspend rail operations and close a 50-kilometer segment of the historic Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route, which typically draws thousands of walkers each summer.
Read more:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/spain-wildfires-mountains-camino-santiago-1.7612085