Large forest fire in eastern Spain forces 850 people to evacuate

Madrid (dpa) - A major forest fire in eastern Spain has forced the evacuation of some 850 people as a precautionary measure, regional authorities said on Friday.

The blaze erupted on Thursday in Montichelvo in Spain's Valencia region and engulfed some 2,000 hectares in the last 24 hours, regional president Carlos Mazón told journalists. "However, no people have been harmed so far," Mazón added.

More than 200 firefighters and military personnel were on site to fight the fire on Friday, according to authorities.

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However, the firefighting efforts were hampered by strong winds, the fire service wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

This is making the use of aeroplanes and helicopters more difficult, it said.

Several roads had to be closed.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

Forest fires in November are rare in Spain.

A Spanish Military Emergencies Unit (UME) agent works to extinguish forest fire. (Rober Solsona/EUROPA PRESS/dpa via Reuters Connect)

According to figures from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), various fires in Spain have affected almost 90,000 hectares this year, especially in the summer.

This is a relatively low compared to 2022 when Spain experienced the most devastating year for forest fires since EFFIS began recording them. Almost 500 major fires damaged an area of over 306,000 hectares.

(Reporting by: Emilio Rappold in Madrid. Editing by: Marissa Smart)