Rome, July 5 (IANS) The fire emergency in the France-Spain border region continued on Sunday, as in the Eastern Pyrenees, the vast blaze that broke out in the Trevillach area regained strength, fueled by wind and heat, devastating approximately 1,500 hectares of vegetation, reports said.

Over 700 firefighters are engaged in extinguishing operations, while dozens of people have been evacuated.

Meanwhile, in Catalonia, the large fire on the Costa Brava, which destroyed over 2,200 hectares, has been stabilised, but authorities warn that the risk remains high due to the new heatwave, Italian news agency Adnkronos reported.

The fire in Trevillach, which broke out on Saturday night in a difficult-to-access area near Mount Canigou, in the Eastern Pyrenees, has “regained strength,” the Eastern Pyrenees’ Prefect Pierre Regnault de la Mothe, said, noting that “it is a fire front of about 18 kilometres, which requires the deployment of significant ground and air resources” and emphasising that “the fire has regained vigor on its right and left flanks”.

Overall, 700 firefighters are engaged in the operations, supported by 200 vehicles and nine aircraft. The Prefect added that about 80 people in the area have been evacuated and that residents of several villages have been asked to self-isolate.

Conditions are becoming more difficult with the increase in the tramontane wind and the intense heat being felt. “The fire is intensifying; we will have to continue fighting,” declared Colonel Stephane Clerc. The fire, whose intensity had temporarily decreased, “has regained vigour under the effect of the tramontana wind,” the prefecture emphasised.

The fire that broke out on Friday near the Costa Brava tourist resort, in northeastern Spain, and burned over two thousand hectares, was stabilised on Sunday morning. Firefighters announced this, predicting a “complicated day”, especially due to the new heatwave affecting Spain. According to the latest data provided by forest rangers, 2,200 hectares have gone up in smoke, and almost 97 per cent of the affected area is within the protected natural area of Gavarres.

“Firefighters expect a difficult day due to high temperatures and the numerous smoke columns around the fire’s perimeter,” the Catalan firefighters said in a statement. “The fire has a very discontinuous perimeter, with several islands of unburned vegetation within the affected area, which generates numerous smoke plumes and requires detailed monitoring of the entire perimeter to prevent any re-ignitions,” they said.

“We worked tirelessly all night to consolidate the perimeter of the La Bisbal d’Empordà wildfire, which is now under control,” they added.

The fire broke out on Friday morning near Girona, about twenty kilometres from the Mediterranean coast. “If the situation continues to improve,” firefighters said, lockdowns in about ten municipalities could be lifted, and residents could return to their homes. According to authorities, the fire was likely caused by “negligence.” According to Spanish media, it could be a construction worker who used an angle grinder in a prohibited area. On Saturday evening, the President of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, confirmed the arrest of one person but declined to provide further details.

At the forefront of the fight against climate change in Europe, Spain experienced “the worst fires in its recent history” last summer, as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez recalled in May. Last year, 393,000 hectares were devastated by flames in Spain, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

–IANS

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