By Alyssa McMurtry
OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez railed against climate change deniers on Monday after visiting the zone affected by Spain’s first major wildfire of the year.
“The climate emergency is not a future emergency; it is a current and urgent crisis. That is why denialism is not acceptable, nor is neutrality toward those who are deniers,” Sanchez told the media.
The prime minister acknowledged that it is increasingly normal for him to speak from areas devastated by wildfires, but said it was strange to be holding a press conference like this so early in the year.
“We’ve just finished winter, and we’re already dealing with a wildfire that is more typical of summer,” he lamented. “And that has a lot to do with the climate emergency … which is going to be especially intense in the Mediterranean area, and of course, in Spain.”
The wildfire began around the border of the regions of Valencia and Aragon on Thursday and forced around 1,700 people to evacuate their homes.
The strong winds and hot conditions still have not allowed firefighters to extinguish the blaze or for most of the evacuees to return to their homes.
It has ripped through around 4,000 hectares (9884 acres) of forested area in the mountains, destroying several homes and vehicles.
On Monday afternoon, flames traveled dangerously close to the village of Montan, threatening to scorch the Valencian municipality with a population of 359.
Meanwhile, three more villages in Valencia were evacuated Monday, while in another, residents are being confined to their homes due to smoke.
Sanchez said that 14 firefighters were injured by the flames on Sunday, though no one has been seriously injured.
Amid unseasonably warm and dry conditions, smaller wildfires have also broken out in the regions of Asturias and Cantabria.