Spain calls wildfires one of its worst disasters in years
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The blazes started during a two-week heatwave that sent temperatures above 40 deg C.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
MADRID - The Spanish government on Aug 26 described wildfires that have swept the country as one of the country’s worst environmental disasters in years, as it approved relief measures for affected areas.
Blazes that flared across Spain in August
“It is obvious we are facing one of the biggest environmental catastrophes in recent years,” Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told a news conference after a weekly cabinet meeting.
The Cabinet declared areas hit by the wildfires a disaster area, a move that unlocks direct aid, tax breaks and other assistance for affected communities.
There were 15 still active wildfires fires at level two – meaning they pose a threat to people and property – on Aug 26.
The main opposition Popular Party (PP) has accused Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s administration of delaying support for regional governments, which are responsible for disaster response.
The worst-hit areas – Castile and Leon, Extremadura, and Galicia in the north and west – are governed by the PP.
PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo on Aug 25 accused the government of poor planning, and proposed a 50-point plan that included creating a national registry of arsonists.
Mr Grande-Marlaska insisted, though, that “all available state resources” had been deployed, with assistance also arriving from foreign fire crews.
He accused the PP of “using these difficult moments for many people as part of their political agenda”.
The minister said the government would review the opposition’s proposals, but stressed that arson accounted for only a small proportion of the fires.
The blazes started during a two-week heatwave that sent temperatures above 40 deg C.
Scientists say climate change is driving longer
