Laurence Dollimore
A FOREST fire has been declared in Andalucia this afternoon while the rest of the country remains on high alert amid searing temperatures.
Footage taken from a helicopter drafted in to tackle the flames shows huge plumes of smoke bellowing from the hills near Calañas in Huelva.
The region’s forest fire taskforce, INFOCA, said in a Twitter post that two planes carrying water are also helping battle the inferno.
On the ground are at least three groups of firefighters and five fire trucks.
It comes after the country’s official forecaster AEMET sounded the alarm due to the dry and humid conditions affecting much of the peninsula, as well as moderate winds which can help carry flames further.
From today, the most at risk regions, which are on a ‘red’ fire alert, are the majority of the inland areas and parts of the coast of Valencia.
The red warning will spread to the coast of Andalucia, Asturias, Cantabria and Cataluñya on Friday.
These warnings will remain in place over the weekend.
