16,000 hectares burned, over 1,100 evacuated: Spain's largest wildfire rages on

Spain's largest wildfire of the year has burned approximately 16,000 hectares and continues to burn, but authorities are hopeful to contain it by Sunday. More than 1,100 people have been evacuated as firefighters continue their efforts to subdue the fire, according to Spanish public broadcaster RTVE.The fire, which broke out Wednesday in the Cinco Villas region, remained "quite active" with "significant" spread overnight into Friday, authorities said. It has forced the evacuation of five municipalities in Zaragoza and one in neighbouring Navarre, spreading across a perimeter of around 60 kilometres. It is now supposedly facing "the final stretch" of the firefighting effort, though officials remain cautious due to highly variable winds. Several roads still remain closed.Around 400 ground personnel and 19 aircraft were deployed to battle the fire on Thursday, with firefighters focusing overnight on protecting homes in Uncastillo. Electricity has been restored to all affected towns."The problem with this extinction and the problem with all the extinctions of these last few days is that there is a very variable wind that keeps shifting," said Luis Biendicho, minister of environment and tourism. "The forecast is exactly the same as what we had yesterday afternoon and the same for tomorrow, which makes us even more cautious."Multiple wildfires across SpainThe Aragon blaze is one of several wildfires burning across Spain during a period of extreme heat and dry weather.A wildfire in the northern province of Guadalajara remained active after burning around 900 hectares, prompting evacuations and lockdown measures. The regional government requested the deployment of Spain's Military Emergency Unit, which sent around 100 personnel to assist firefighting operations.A third wildfire near Lozoyuela, north of Madrid, has not been fully contained and has burned nearly 70 hectares of land. Authorities arrested a man suspected of starting the Madrid-region fire.What fuels the firesHigh temperatures, strong winds, low humidity and abundant vegetation following a rainy spring have contributed to the spread of the fires. Experts also cite climate change and the abandonment of rural areas as factors increasing wildfire risk.Successive early summer heatwaves, which many scientists blame on human-driven climate change, have pushed temperatures to unprecedented levels across Europe, causing water shortages, crop damage, wildfires and thousands more deaths than normal.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.