Andalucia among 15 Communities declared catastrophic zones in Spain due to devastating forest fires

SPAIN has declared catastrophic zones to 15 regions affected by destructive forest fires.

In a year in which has so far devastated more than 220,000 hectares of land, the Council of Ministers of Spain approved this Tuesday, August 23, the declaration of catastrophic zones in 15 regions of the country, including Andalucia, affected by 119 forest fires, which have caused the death of three people and the evacuation of more than 27,500 people.

In the case of Andalucia, the municipalities affected are Pinos Puente (Granada), due to a fire on July 25; Bonares (Huelva), where there was also a fire on July 25; Mijas (Malaga) due to fires on July 15 and 26, and Guillena (Sevilla), on 10 July.

The other autonomous communities declared catastrophic zones in Spain due to devastating forest fires are: Aragon, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Castile and Leon, Castile-La Mancha, Catalonia, Valencia, Extremadura, Galicia, the Community of Madrid, the Region of Murcia, the Community of Navarre, the Basque Country and La Rioja.

The planned recovery measures include direct aid for death or for absolute and permanent disability, for total destruction of the home or for damages that affect the structure of the habitual residence, among others.

Meanwhile, an association of non-smokers, Nofumadores.org, has sent a petition with 77,000 signatures to the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge to ban smoking in national parks, given that cigarette butts are found almost everywhere in Spanish national parks, many of which are behind the loss of tens of thousands of hectares of forest each year.

READ MORE:

Forest fire starts after man throws out used barbecue charcoal in Alicante area of Spain

MAPPED: Firefighters battle twelve different wildfires across Spain