MADRID: A wildfire in the western Spanish region of Extremadura has ravaged up to 3,700 acres and forced 550 people from their homes with windy weather complicating efforts to bring it under control, emergency services said on Friday.
“The are very strong gusts of wind generating a speed and progress that make efforts to extinguish it difficult,” a commander of the Military Emergency Unit, David Barona, told state TV channel 24H.
“The smoke plume is spreading at a low altitude making it difficult for air assets to access the area.”
Up to 250 firefighters are fighting the blaze in an area called Pinofranqueado, in Caceres province, near the border with Portugal.
Authorities have ordered the evacuation of as many as 550 people in the villages of Cadalso, Descargamaría and Robledillo de Gata.
Authorities believe the fire was started deliberately.
“It’s a very large attack on vegetation and the area,” the head of Extremadura emergency services Nieves Villar told reporters.
An unusually dry winter across parts of southern Europe coming after three years of below-average rainfall in Spain have raised the risk of wildfires.
Some 493 fires destroyed a record 307,000 hectares in Spain last year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.
Wildfire ravages 3,700 acres in western Spain, 550 people evacuated
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Wildfire ravages 3,700 acres in western Spain, 550 people evacuated
- Up to 250 firefighters are fighting the blaze in an area called Pinofranqueado, in Caceres province, near the border with Portugal
Trump discussing how to acquire Greenland; US military always an option, White House says
- Greenland has repeatedly said it does not want to be part of the United States
- Strong statements in support of Greenland from NATO leaders have not deterred Trump
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and his team are discussing options for acquiring Greenland and the use of the US military in furtherance of the goal is “always an option,” the White House said on Tuesday.
Trump’s ambition of acquiring Greenland as a strategic US hub in the Arctic, where there is growing interest from Russia and China, has been revived in recent days in the wake of the US arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Greenland has repeatedly said it does not want to be part of the United States.
The White House said in a statement in response to queries from Reuters that Trump sees acquiring Greenland as a US national security priority necessary to “deter our adversaries in the Arctic region.”
“The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal,” the White House said.
A senior US official said discussions about ways to acquire Greenland are active in the Oval Office and that advisers are discussing a variety of options.
Strong statements in support of Greenland from NATO leaders have not deterred Trump, the official said.
“It’s not going away,” the official said about the president’s drive to acquire Greenland during his remaining three years in office.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said options include the outright US purchase of Greenland or forming a Compact of Free Association with the territory. A COFA agreement would stop short of Trump’s ambition to make the island of 57,000 people a part of the US.
A potential purchase price was not provided.
“Diplomacy is always the president’s first option with anything, and dealmaking. He loves deals. So if a good deal can be struck to acquire Greenland, that would definitely be his first instinct,” the official said.
Administration officials argue the island is crucial to the US due to its deposits of minerals with important high-tech and military applications. These resources remain untapped due to labor shortages, scarce infrastructure and other challenges.
Leaders from major European powers and Canada rallied behind Greenland on Tuesday, saying the Arctic island belongs to its people.
