Over 4,000 hectares of land destroyed in ongoing wildfires in Spain

Over 4,000 hectares of land have been destroyed in seven wildfires that are still burning in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain, according to local firefighting services.

At least 2,000 hectares have so far been ravaged by the largest fire close to the city of A Coruna. There have not been any casualties, but the flames have forced the evacuation of 700 people from a campsite in the A Pobra do Caraminal, Xinhua news agency reported.

The fire in the province of Ourense has burned 600 hectares after starting simultaneously in 10 different places, but has been brought under control.

Most of the fires were thought to be started intentionally, according to local media reports.

The leader of the main opposition party (PP) Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who is also the former president of the Regional Government of Galicia, called for the "full weight of the law" to be brought on those responsible for the fires.

According to data collected by the Copernicus satellite on Saturday, around 230,000 hectares of land have been burned in wildfires in the driest summer on record in Spain this year.

The central government on Monday approved a new law to help prevent future fires, which includes measures such as increasing all-year-round vigilance and removing undergrowth to prevent flames to spread rapidly.

--IANS

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