Spanish fires destroy vast forest tracts

More than 1,300 Spanish firefighters and 30 water-bombing aircraft and helicopters Saturday sought to contain wildfires that have razed vast forest areas and threatened villages. Wildfires raged in the Valencia and Barcelona regions, forcing the evacuation of many hundreds of people from entire villages. More than 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of woodland were ravaged in Cortes de Palla in Valencia, said the head of the eastern region, Alberto Fabra, who termed it "one of the biggest fires in recent years". The blaze was sparked Thursday during work to fit solar panels on homes in the area, he said. Two people were arrested and placed under judicial supervision, said a spokesman for the prefecture. The local government said the flames were fanned by "unfavourable weather conditions with very high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds." The fire raged amid summer temperatures nearing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and come after one of the driest winters in 70 years. Some 700 people were evacuated from local hamlets as well as the staff of a local power plant. A second fire also broke out in Andilla. In the northeastern Barcelona region, about 40 fire trucks battled a blaze in the Prats del Rei area, which had already ravaged nearly 1,000 hectares of forest, the fire service said in a statement.