Record Spanish wildfires close part of Camino de Santiago route

TROOPS, PLANES DEPLOYED

The Spanish army has deployed 3,000 troops and 50 aircraft to help firefighters, emergency services general director Virginia Barcones said.

Spain is also receiving or has been offered help from France, Italy, Netherlands, Slovakia, Germany and the Czech Republic through the European Civil Protection mechanism, according to the Interior Ministry.

In the past week alone, about 20 wildfires have devastated thousands of hectares in the regions of Galicia and Castile and Leon, forcing authorities to cut rail services in the area, as well as a 50-km (30-mile) stretch of the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage path trodden by thousands in the summer.

It links France and the city of Santiago de Compostela on the western tip of Spain, where the remains of the apostle St James are said to be buried.

‘TERRIBLE THING’

Patrice Lepettre, a 75-year-old pilgrim in Astorga, told Reuters the inconvenience for hikers was temporary and could not be compared to the locals’ plight.

“It’s a terrible thing for the population. The pilgrims can go back home and come another year to finish the Camino, but for the people who live here, it’s a terrible thing,” he said.

Leaders of regions run by the main opposition People’s Party (PP) have criticised the central government for poor planning and asked for more resources to fight the wildfires.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Sunday urged a “state pact” on climate change with all main political forces, which was dismissed as a “diversion” by PP spokesperson Ester Munoz on Monday.

The Interior ministry said 27 people have been arrested and 92 were under investigation for suspected arson since June.

In Palacios de Jamuz in the northern region of Castile and Leon, where a wildfire had burned down whole rows of houses, Delia Lobato was inspecting the damage and lamented the deaths of people and trees.

“Such young people who had their whole lives ahead and who are gone, that’s the hardest thing,” she said.

“We will plant again, and if I don’t see it grow well my children will.”