In the Sierra de la Culebra mountain range in the northwestern province of Zamora, the flames burned more than 25,000 hectares, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents from 18 municipalities. Emergency officials said Sunday that low temperatures had allowed them to make a profit in stabilizing the fire, which a firefighters’ union had previously described as a “real monster”. More than 600 firefighters fought to contain the blaze, which broke a mountain range classified as one of Spain’s green jewels, a densely forested area home to more than 70 species of birds and one of the highest concentrations in Iberian Europe wolves. “It’s really worrying,” said environmentalist Sergi García. “This is a unique area, home to some of the richest biodiversity in Europe. “And it has been affected by a devastating wildfire.” The area has become famous in recent years for hosting one of the largest wolf populations in western Europe, with its wooded hills playing a key role in helping the Iberian population jump from a few hundred animals in the 1970s to more than 2,500 worldwide. Spain today. It was still too early to assess how the fire had affected the wolves, but Garcia said the timing of the fire – just about two months after most wolves were born – suggests the consequences could be serious. “The fire hit an area that functions as a breeding ground for this species,” he said. “If that had happened in the summer, maybe the puppies could have left. “But at the moment they are very young.” Hot days across Spain have been blamed for sparking dozens of fires in eight of the country’s 17 regions. Officials in Catalonia said on Saturday that firefighters were trying to extinguish more than 30 flames. In the Navarre area, officials evacuated about 15 municipalities as concerns grew that efforts to contain several fires could be thwarted by high temperatures and winds. “We have very difficult times ahead of us,” Navarre Interior Ministry director Amparo López Antelo told reporters. Extreme weather conditions have spread to parts of France, which recorded the first heatwave in 75 years. Temperatures at the seaside resort of Biarritz reached 42.9 degrees Celsius. About 2,500 sheep had to be evacuated after a fire caused by an artillery shell fired during military training burned about 200 hectares in southern France. Fires also broke out in Germany, where residents in three villages near Berlin were ordered to flee their homes due to a fire approaching on Sunday. In Italy, a record drought prompted many cities to announce water cuts and the Lombardy region was considering declaring a state of emergency. The extreme weather has come as Spain’s state meteorological service says climate change is leading to earlier summers and more frequent heat waves. “In the middle of the 21st century, which is not far off, a normal summer could be as hot as the hottest summer we have ever experienced or even hotter,” said Aemet spokesman Ruben del Campo recently. “So what is great now will end up being normal.”
