Updated on
Summary
Wildfires raged in the Spanish province of Valencia forcing authorities to evacuate families overnight. Three blazes swept through the municipalities of Angullent and Ontiyent where dozens of families were moved to safe ground, local authorities said. Flames continued to be active on Tuesday in Valencias municipality of Simat de Valdingna, Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported. The first alert was raised by a local resident who reported the fire to emergency services at 22:30 local time (20:00GMT), El Mundo said. The Mayor of Oniyent Lina Insa told La Ser radio station that most of the evacuees were in their second homes and were easily transferred to their first homes. However, she said 100 cots had been made available for residents who did not have anywhere to go. Insa said the cause of the wildfires was still to be determined although there were suspicions they had been started deliberately. Emergency services are battling the wildfires and seven helicopters and five planes joined the efforts at daybreak on Tuesday. Authorities said that the lack of visibility has made it impossible to determine the scale of the damage caused by the fires.
