By Nacho Doss
Xrta, Spain (Reuters) -The heavenly authorities ordered more than 18,000 residents of the northeastern province of Taragona to stay inside on Tuesday and dozens of dozens were evacuated when food fires were out of a fire in the gases.
Large parts of Spain on a maximum alert of forest fires after the country witnessed the most important of them in June. Two people died in a huge fire on July 1 in the Catalonia region, where Tarragona is located.
The authorities said that the latest fire broke out early on Monday in a remote area near the village of Paul, where strong winds and rugged terrain hindered fire combat efforts. An emergency military unit was deployed early on Tuesday, along with more than 300 firefighters working in the area.
“Since midnight, firefighters have been fighting fire with wind storms of up to 90 km per hour (56 miles per hour),” said Catalonia’s regional firefighting service.
Overnight, the fire engines raced the winding roads in the mountains of Paul, surrounded by fire, where the crews evaluated and tried to contain the fire.
In the neighboring villages in Xrta and Aldover, the residents spent a sleeping night as they threatened their homes.
“There was a lot of fear and a lot of crying because we are already on the edge of the fire. Last night, because of the wind that was blowing fire and smoke, we could not leave our house. Terrible, unprecedented before,” said Rosa Velida, 76 Reuters.
The authorities said that they prevented the fire from spreading across the Abro River, which would have worsened. Nearly 30 % of the affected area is located inside the natural ports park, and officials are investigating the origins of the fire.
(Additional writing and reporting by Emma Benedwing by André Khalb and Gareth Jones)
