Crews battle eastern Spain wildfire as heatwave strains Europe
Firefighters in Spain's Castellón province fight a 810-hectare wildfire, with controlled burns and air support, as Europe endures a heatwave.
Firefighting crews in eastern Spain are working to contain a wildfire that has been burning since Friday near the town of Tírig, in the Castellón province of the Valencia region. The blaze has so far consumed approximately 810 hectares of land.
A large-scale response involving more than 300 personnel and 21 aircraft remains in place. Overnight, teams combined direct attack methods with controlled burning, a tactic used to create firebreaks and deprive the main fire of fuel. Authorities said the effort to halt the fire's advance was holding through Wednesday morning.
However, forecast thunderstorms for the afternoon have raised concerns that strong wind gusts could complicate the operation and potentially spread the flames.
The wildfire comes amid an intense stretch of hot weather across much of Europe. The prolonged heat has contributed to major wildfires, worsening drought conditions, and has been linked to new national temperature records and thousands of projected heat-related deaths across the continent.