Wildfire in Spain ravages 8,000ha of pine

MADRID
A wildfire in northern Spain's Aragon region
has ravaged around 8,000 hectares of pine
and brush and forced some 1,500 people to
evacuate their homes local authorities said
Sunday ,

About 500 rescue workers and firefighters
have been deployed to fight the blaze,which
broke out on Sunday ,as well as 26 planes
helecopters,

The flames have not yet been brought
under control, The fire comes during a
heatwave that has gripped Western Europe,
for the past week,with temperatures  in the
region pushing 40 degrees Celsius (around
100 degrees Fahrenheit),

"Expert say that the fire concerns a zone
of about 13,000 hectares and that it could
have already burned 8,000 hectares "
Antonio Suarez a local government official
told public television.

The government said the right flank of
the fire was the most dangerous because
it was close to the dense pine forest ,

Around 1,500 people were evacuated
Saturday ,with most able to return to their
homes to the next day,AFP