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WILDFIRES

‘Thousands of hectares’ destroyed by wildfire in Spain

Firefighters were battling strong winds Monday as a huge forest fire burnt out of control in southeastern Spain while another blaze in the north was stabilised.

Published: 15 August 2022 09:48 CEST
'Thousands of hectares' destroyed by wildfire in Spain
A volunteer member of a fire brigade walks next a wildfire near the village of Verin, northwestern Spain on August 4, 2022. (Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP)

Both fires broke out late Saturday, with more than 350 firefighters engaged against the wildfire in the northern Aragon region that has so far devastated an area of 6,000 hectares forcing at least 1,500 people from their homes.

But as they managed to steady the Aragon blaze after successfully preventing it from entering a protected nature reserve, the wildfire in the southeastern Valencia region continued to spread.

READ ALSO: Are Spain’s wildfires a risk to people’s health?

The Aragon emergency services estimate “thousands” of hectares have been destroyed by the fire.

The “rapid spread” of the flames, stoked by winds, is “critical”, the regional president, Javier Lamban, told media.

Spain has faced 388 wildfires since the start of the year, fuelled by scorching temperatures and drought conditions.

The blazes have destroyed 261,930 hectares in Spain this year, more than in any other country in Europe, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System.

Fires in the South fanned by winds

Hundreds of firefighters backed by 25 planes and helicopters were tackling the flames in the Vall de Ebo, 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the coastal resort of Benidorm.

So far, more than 6,500 hectares of land have been destroyed and more than 1,200 fled from their homes, with firefighting efforts complicated by strong winds in terrain that is difficult to access, the regional administration said.

“It is a very complex fire and very complicated terrain. We evacuated more than 1,000 people yesterday and last night, we had to evacuate 70 or 80 more homes,” regional emergency chief Jose Maria Angel told Cadena SER radio saying the fire’s perimeter was “progressively increasing”.

Scientists say human-induced climate change is making extreme weather events including heatwaves and droughts more frequent and more intense. They in turn increase the risk of fires, which emit climate heating greenhouse gases.

READ ALSO: What to do and what to avoid if you witness a forest fire in Spain

Fires have blazed in other European countries including France, Greece and Portugal, making 2022 a record year for wildfire activity on the continent.

What causes forest fires?

According to the latest data from the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office, there were at least 179 people investigated and arrested for intentionally starting fires in the first half of 2022.

The most common reasons that have been revealed by the Forest Fire Statistics (EGIF) from the Ministry of Agriculture are to remove scrub and agricultural waste, to regenerate grass for livestock, pyromaniacs, vandalism and to making hunting easier.

READ MORE: Why are there so many forest fires in Spain?

Of course, not all forest fires in Spain are started deliberately. The high temperatures, winds and dry plant material, due to lack of rain in summer, all provide the perfect ingredients for fires across the country.

Declining rural populations in some of Spain’s regions are also causing more fires as fields are abandoned and plant life is left to grow wild. There are also fewer farm animals to help clear the land of scrub.

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CLIMATE CRISIS

‘Mutant cockroaches’: Why Spain’s rising temperatures make them multiply

Experts in Spain are warning that rising temperatures are causing genetic mutations in cockroach populations that lengthen their breeding seasons and make them more resistant to traditional pesticides.

Published: 16 April 2024 11:04 CEST
'Mutant cockroaches': Why Spain's rising temperatures make them multiply

They’re a part of Spanish summers that everyone dreads. No, not the blistering heat or beaches and beauty spots teeming with tourists, but the cockroaches coming out of hibernation.

If you haven’t lived in a warm climate before, this can come as a bit of a shock. This is especially true if you come across some of the huge, brown cockroaches scurrying across the street or, even worse, in your house.

But now climate and pest control experts warn that climate change could make the problem even worse by causing a genetic mutation and creating what the Spanish press have dubbed ‘mutant cockroaches’ (cucarachas mutantes) that are growing immune to traditional pesticides.

READ ALSO: What to do about insects and other pests in your home in Spain?

The mutation, experts fear, combined with longer breeding seasons and increased birth rates, could pose a public health risk.

Rising temperatures are causing the ‘blond’ or Germanic cockroach (blattella germanica) to genetically mutate.

“Their metabolic cycle is accelerated” by the heat and they are increasingly immune to insecticides, Jorge Galván, director general of the National Association of Environmental Health Companies (Anecpla), told Spanish news outlet 20minutos.

Climate change has changed Spain from “subtropical to a tropical climate,” Galván says.

“The warm seasons are getting longer and the cold ones are getting hotter.” This in turn means that cockroaches appear “a couple of months earlier” and stay out later into the year than they previously would.

This means a longer breeding season, and therefore a larger number of cockroaches.

The effects of these high temperatures combined with longer breeding seasons substantially increases “the probability of a genetic alteration.” Already, pest control experts have seen that cockroaches are becoming immune to traditional pesticides and can ingest chemicals previously used to kill them, something that will, Galván fears, contribute to problems not only of pest control “but of public health.”

READ ALSO: What venomous species are there in Spain?

Carlos Pradera, technical manager of the pest control company Anticimex, explained that “the more we treat them, the more they withstand the pressure.”

For this reason, Pradera says, experts are investigating other “preventive measures” to try and combat the genetic changes, looking at other “other methodologies based on traps and vacuums.”

Cockroaches are becoming increasingly common in homes and bars and restaurants in Spain, experts warn. Anticimex carried out almost 40 percent more pest control incidents in 2023 than the previous year, a record, according to data provided to EL PERIÓDICO.

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