Hundreds evacuated as suspected intentional wildfire hits western Spain

By CIARÁN GILES
Associated Press

MADRID (AP) — Some 700 people have been evacuated from four small towns in western Spain owing to a wildfire fanned by strong winds. More than 400 firefighters, including 50 from the army’s Military Emergency Unit, are battling to bring the fire under control in Las Hurdes, a hilly area west of Madrid. Some 8,000 (20,000 acres) hectares have been razed. Officials suspect the fire, which began Wednesday night, was started deliberately as two separate blazes erupted almost simultaneously. They said Friday that the problem now was not a lack of means to fight the fire, but winds of 60 kph (40 mph).