Catalan fire service announces Ampurdan fire extinguished

On Saturday evening the Catalan fire service finally extinguished the fire that swept through a large area of the Baix Empordà last week. The fire started near Vilopriu and quickly spread southwards due to the strong northerly winds, with a total area of 550 hectares of vegetation burnt.

Sadly, early indications are that the fire was started deliberately. The whole of Catalonia was high risk due to the lack of rain for several weeks, combined with the wind that helps fan the flames and spread it rapidly.

The fire fighter’s union has criticised organisation of the efforts to control and extinguish the blaze, saying that it took too long to get started, but how much this is down to politics I don’t know. The fire service has been affected by cutbacks like all other public services.

Source: Diari de Girona

Tags: Ampurdan, Baix Empordà, Fires, socialmedia