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Firefighters said that the fire spread at 28 kph (17 mph) at one
point, making it one of the fastest fires registered in Europe,
they said.
Catalan regional president Salvador Illa announced the deaths,
which occurred late Tuesday, in a social media post around
midnight. Firefighters said that the two victims were found near
the small village of Cosco in the county of La Segarra near a
vehicle. Regional official Nuria Parlón said that the two
victims were a farmer and one of his workers. She said that it
appears that they were caught by the flames as they were trying
to flee the farm.
Two firefighters also needed to be treated a local hospital for
injuries.
A total of 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) was burned before
firefighters got some help from a rain storm and established a
perimeter. Authorities issued warnings to residents via messages
to smartphones and ordered 14,000 people to stay indoors,
firefighters said. That order was lifted late Tuesday.
The fire destroyed mostly farmland, but it also incinerated at
least three old farmhouses and some other farm buildings.
The fire was declared under control early Wednesday.
“Wildfires today are not like they were before,” Ill said.
“These are extremely dangerous. From the very first moment, it
was considered to be beyond the capacity of extinction. I mean
that not even with two or three times the number of
firefighters, they have told me, it would have been possible to
put out.”
The heat wave in parts of Europe has set record high
temperatures for June in Spain and Portugal.
More hot weather is expected on Wednesday with temperatures in
the Lleida region forecast to reach a high of 39 C (102 F).
“It will be a difficult day due to the high temperatures and
until we get past the hottest part of the afternoon we will have
to be on our guard,” said Illa, the regional president.
Italy’s health ministry also forecast 18 of the country’s 27
major cities will be experiencing a heat wave on Wednesday.
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