Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

WILDFIRE

Wildfire rages in Spain’s Alicante as temperatures rise

A forest fire that started in abnormally hot temperatures has burned through more than 500 hectares (1,235 acres) near Spain's Costa Blanca and forced 180 people to flee their homes, officials said Monday.

Published: 15 April 2024 14:47 CEST
Wildfire rages in Spain's Alicante as temperatures rise
Around 180 people have been evacuated after a wildfire broke out in Tárbena, near Benidorm. Photo: Bomberos Alicante

The fire began on Sunday near Tárbena in the Valencia region (Alicante province) as temperatures reached 30 degrees Celcius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), which is unusually high for the season.

Heat, wind and low humidity fuelled the blaze which media reports said may have started with an agricultural fire.

“The fire is still active” after a “complicated” night for firefighters, the region’s emergency services wrote on X, the former Twitter, saying the blaze had destroyed “more than 500 hectares (1,235 acres)” of land.

“Around 180 people have been evacuated” from the two worst-hit areas, Pilar Bernabe, the central government representative in Valencia, told public television.

Eight air units battled the blaze alongside firefighters and troops from the UME military emergency unit which is called in to help with larger fires.

According to the AEMET national weather service, temperatures rose above 30C in more than 65 areas across Spain on Saturday, including places as far north as the Pyrenees, Galicia and the Castilla y Leon region.

Tárbena is about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the coast, near the coastal resort of Benidorm.

In 2022, some 500 wildfires destroyed huge more than 300,000 hectares of land in Spain, a record in Europe, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

READ ALSO: Heat records for April already broken across Spain

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

PROPERTY

Spain’s Valencia reduces IBI property tax for 700,000 homeowners

Valencia City Hall has announced that it will reduce the IBI property tax bill by at least 20 percent for at least 70,000 property owners in the city, meaning the average homeowner will pay €72.50 less a year.

Published: 7 May 2024 09:47 CEST
Spain's Valencia reduces IBI property tax for 700,000 homeowners

IBI (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles) is similar to council tax bill in the UK, but is only paid once per year. How much you pay depends on the value and location of your home. Generally, it’s paid by homeowners only, not tenants. 

Valencia City Hall have said that 99 percent of residents will benefit from the lower rates, saving them a combined total of €70 million.

READ ALSO: What is Spain’s IBI tax and how do I pay it?

The Councillor for the Treasury and first deputy mayor, María José Ferrer San Segundo, has denounced “the fiscal hell to which the previous government subjected its citizens to for eight years”, and has celebrated that “the important respite that has finally arrived for the residents of this city, thanks to the reduction in taxes and rates approved by the government of mayor, María José Catalá”.

In real terms, it will mean an average reduction of €72.50 per household, which represents a total saving of €70 million as a result of the 20 percent reduction in the general tax rate.

IBI bonuses have already been applied to large families with reductions of 60 percent for those in the general category and 90 percent for those in the special category. In total, the 3,800 large families that pay IBI taxes in Valencia will be able to benefit from these measures.

“This is money that will stay in the pockets of Valencians and that will also contribute to further energising the economy and promoting job creation,” Ferrer said.

Other taxes besides the IBI will also be reduced in Valencia include the Vehicle Tax with an average reduction in rates of 8.5 percent. The reduction affects all types of vehicles and will mean a total saving of €2,082,542.40.

The capital gains tax for inheritance from relatives will also be reduced by the legal maximum of 95 percent, regardless of the cadastral value of the property.

SHOW COMMENTS