MADRID: Some 300 firefighters spent a difficult night battling a huge wildfire in southeastern Spain that has burnt through nearly 10,000 hectares in an area notoriously difficult to access, officials said Tuesday.
The fire began when lightning hit the Vall de Ebo area in the province of Alicante late Saturday and it has since spread rapidly, fueled by strong winds, forcing the evacuation of more than 1,000 people, Valencia’s regional government said.
“It’s been a very complicated night,” regional interior minister Gabriela Bravo told Antena 3 television, saying some 300 firefighters were battling the flames, backed by 24 planes and helicopters.
“At the moment we are talking about more than 9,500 hectares burnt with a perimeter of 65 kilometers (40 miles),” regional president Ximo Puig said late Monday, describing the blaze as “absolutely huge.”
“It’s a very complicated situation... The fire is creating enormous difficulties that are absolutely impossible to tackle with the speed we would like.”
Firefighters elsewhere in the region were also battling two other wildfires north of Valencia city, with hundreds of firefighters and at least 10 firefighting planes engaged in the operation, officials said.
Further north, firefighters in the Aragon region were hoping to bring under control another major blaze that broke out Saturday that has burnt more than 6,000 hectares of land, forcing at least 1,500 people from their homes.
So far this year, Spain has suffered 391 wildfires, fueled by scorching temperatures and drought conditions, which have destroyed a total of 271,020 hectares of land, according to the latest figures from the European Forest Fire Information System.
This year’s fires in Spain have been particularly devastating, destroying more than three times the area consumed by wildfires in the whole of 2021, which amounted to 84,827 hectares, the figures show.
Scientists say human-induced climate change is making extreme weather events, including heatwaves and droughts, more frequent and intense. They in turn increase the risk of fires, which emit climate-heating greenhouse gases.
Fires have blazed across Europe, particularly in France, Greece and Portugal, making 2022 a record year for wildfires on the continent.
In Portugal, a wildfire brought under control last week reignited Tuesday in the UNESCO-designated Serra da Estrela natural park, the civil protection agency said.
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Spain firefighters battle to control huge Valencia wildfire
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Spain firefighters battle to control huge Valencia wildfire
- Firefighters elsewhere in the region were also battling two other wildfires north of Valencia city
- So far this year, Spain has suffered 391 wildfires
Epstein accomplice Ghislain Maxwell refuses to answer US House panel questions
- Ghislain Maxwell, who is serving 20 years for sex trafficking, was subpoenaed to testify before the House Oversight Committee
- Epstein's former associate invoked her legal right against self-incrimination
WASHINGTON: Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell refused on Monday to answer questions from a US congressional committee, invoking her legal right against self-incrimination, lawmakers said.
Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, was subpoenaed to testify before the House Oversight Committee to discuss her relations with the disgraced financier.
Republican committee chairman James Comer said Maxwell had invoked her right to not incriminate herself, guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution.
“As expected, Ghislaine Maxwell took the Fifth and refused to answer any questions,” Comer told reporters. “This is obviously very disappointing.”
“We had many questions to ask about the crimes she and Epstein committed as well as questions about potential co-conspirators,” he said.
Maxwell’s lawyers told the House panel that the former British socialite was prepared to testify only if she was first granted clemency by President Donald Trump, Comer said.
The lawyers had pushed for Congress to grant her legal immunity in order to testify, but lawmakers refused.
Maxwell is the only person convicted of a crime in connection with Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
The 64-year-old Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of supplying underage girls to the wealthy financier, who had ties to top business executives, politicians, celebrities and academics.
Maxwell was scheduled to testify virtually from the Texas prison where she is serving her sentence.
Her deposition comes amid the release by the Justice Department of millions of documents, photographs and videos related to the investigation into Epstein.
The Justice Department has said no new prosecutions are expected but a number of political and business leaders have been tarnished by scandal or resigned after their ties with Epstein were revealed in the files.
The House committee has also summoned former Democratic president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton to testify about their interactions with Epstein.
The Clintons have called for their depositions to be held publicly to prevent Republicans from politicizing their testimony.
Trump was once a close friend of Epstein but has not been called to testify by the House Oversight Committee, which is led by members of his Republican Party.
Neither the Clintons nor Trump have been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
Last year Maxwell was moved to a minimum-security prison in Texas after meeting twice with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal lawyer.
Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, was subpoenaed to testify before the House Oversight Committee to discuss her relations with the disgraced financier.
Republican committee chairman James Comer said Maxwell had invoked her right to not incriminate herself, guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution.
“As expected, Ghislaine Maxwell took the Fifth and refused to answer any questions,” Comer told reporters. “This is obviously very disappointing.”
“We had many questions to ask about the crimes she and Epstein committed as well as questions about potential co-conspirators,” he said.
Maxwell’s lawyers told the House panel that the former British socialite was prepared to testify only if she was first granted clemency by President Donald Trump, Comer said.
The lawyers had pushed for Congress to grant her legal immunity in order to testify, but lawmakers refused.
Maxwell is the only person convicted of a crime in connection with Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
The 64-year-old Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of supplying underage girls to the wealthy financier, who had ties to top business executives, politicians, celebrities and academics.
Maxwell was scheduled to testify virtually from the Texas prison where she is serving her sentence.
Her deposition comes amid the release by the Justice Department of millions of documents, photographs and videos related to the investigation into Epstein.
The Justice Department has said no new prosecutions are expected but a number of political and business leaders have been tarnished by scandal or resigned after their ties with Epstein were revealed in the files.
The House committee has also summoned former Democratic president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton to testify about their interactions with Epstein.
The Clintons have called for their depositions to be held publicly to prevent Republicans from politicizing their testimony.
Trump was once a close friend of Epstein but has not been called to testify by the House Oversight Committee, which is led by members of his Republican Party.
Neither the Clintons nor Trump have been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
Last year Maxwell was moved to a minimum-security prison in Texas after meeting twice with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal lawyer.
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