MADRID, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Around 350 firemen with the help of 15 aircraft and helicopters are working to control a wildfire which has burned around 4,000 hectares of land in the region of Tarragona, northeastern Spain, on Thursday morning.
Local emergency services confirm that the fire, which began on Wednesday afternoon for reasons so far unknown, has led to around 30 people being evacuated from their homes overnight by the Red Cross.
One hundred and twenty members of the Spanish Military's Emergency Unit, are also helping with the task of fighting the flames, while the leader of the Catalan regional government Quim Torra is also visiting the area affected by the fire on Thursday morning.
Miquel Buch, the Interior Minister in the Catalan assembly described the fire as "one of the like which hasn't been seen in years... it could be the worst in the last 20 years," he said, adding that "it could potentially burn 20,000 hectares."
Firefighters have to deal with extreme weather conditions which are complicating their task with temperature of 40 degrees Celsius affecting nearly all of Spain. Temperature of up to 42 degrees is predicated to affect in the Tarragona region until the end of the weekend.
"When the wind drops we will be able to control the fire better, but temperatures are going to rise even higher and the relative humidity will be low," explained Jordi Sola, the Chief of the firefighting operation.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also expressed his concern about the fire in a tweet which read "I am worried about the information which arrives from Tarragona and for the families who have been evacuated," before thanking emergency services for their efforts.
This summer Spain is facing an even greater risk from wildfires than usual after 2019 has so far seen 25 percent less rainfall than average leaving areas of the countryside bone dry.
The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture informs that 6,220 wildfires were confirmed from the start of 2019 until June 16, almost 4,000 more than in the same period in 2018 and 1,100 above the average for the last 10 years.
The majority of these fires damaged less than one hectare, but so far the fire has affected 38,023 hectares, well above the 9,284 hectares damaged a year ago.
