Hundreds evacuated as wildfire continues to rage in western Spain

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - More than 700 people have been evacuated from their homes as a fire in Spain’s Extremadura region continues to rage on Friday.

Powerful winds and dry conditions have helped the fire spread quickly. Since it began on Wednesday night, it has affected as many as 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres), according to Victor Perez, Extremadura’s wildfire coordinator.

In response to the encroaching flames and mounting smoke, evacuations have been ordered in five villages within the counties of Las Hurdes and Sierra de Gata.

Authorities said the fire, which began late Wednesday, is a deliberate act of arson.

“Whoever did it knew very well what he was doing, how to do it and when was the best time to start it,” said the head of Extremadura Guillermo Fernandez Vara.

Arsonists were behind a huge bout of fires in the Spanish region of Asturias earlier this spring.

In addition to regional forces, Spain has deployed roughly 400 military personnel and 14 aircraft to counter the blaze.

Meteorologists predict the winds, currently gusting up to 50 kilometers/hour (31 miles/hour), will maintain their intensity, and could potentially increase as night falls.

"The wind has become our worst adversary," Fernandez Vara told the press, adding that "the pine trees are burning like gasoline and the pine cones are acting like flamethrowers."

The area is heavily forested, with a large number of pine tree plantations.

No rain is in the forecast for the area until Sunday.