The key to preventing forest fires is creating a rural economy based on the use of forests. While this would generate much-needed employment in “la España vaciada” – “hollowed-out Spain”, the name given to the country’s depopulated rural areas – it also costs money. It is therefore essential to invest in forests.

Wildfires have scorched 373,000 hectares in Spain this year, surpassing 2022 for the worst fire season on record.

This year is turning into one of the worst fire seasons in recent memory in Europe. Firefighters are struggling to contain out-of-control wildfires in western Spain and Portugal.

VILLANUEVA DE LA SIERRA, Spain, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Spain battled 14 major fires driven by high winds and aggravated by heat on Friday as authorities warned of "unfavourable conditions" to tackle flames that have already killed seven people and burned an area the size of London.

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Spain’s Pedro Sanchez called for a nationwide pact uniting all levels of government to combat what he called an accelerating climate emergency as wildfires raged in several regions of the country.

A heatwave is continuing to affect the Iberian Peninsula. Thousands of firefighters have been deployed to battle ongoing blazes and towns have been evacuated. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited affected regions to meet with the heads of emergency teams.

Spain's worst wave of wildfires on record spread to the southern slopes of the Picos de Europa mountains on Monday (Aug 18) and prompted authorities to close part of the popular C