Forest fire in Spain extinguished

The wildfire that began on Wednesday evening in the Sierra Calderona natural park between the cities of Valencia and Castellon on the east coast of Spain was finally extinguished in the early hours of Saturday morning, Valencia regional government said.

Over 600 people worked through Friday night to bring the fire under control after it destroyed 1,200 hectares in the area famous for its forests of cork trees, Xinhua news agency reported.

A total of 27 helicopters and aircraft helped with firefighting duties.

Jose Maria Angel, General Director of Emergencies in the Valencia region, thanked those responsible for combating the fire, while Government delegate Juan Carlos Moragues explained that although the cause of the blaze was still being investigated, there had been an electrical storm in the area early in the week.

He said heat from a lightning strike had probably built up in a tree, which had later combusted under a combination of favourable weather conditions, including high temperatures, low humidity and high winds.

This is the second major fire in Spain in just over a week following a destructive blaze which burned over 8,000 hectares in and around the Donana National Park in the country's southwest region.

--IANS

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