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MADRID (AP) — An uncontrolled wildfire burned outside Madrid on
Thursday, sending a giant cloud of smoke over the Spanish
capital.
The fire broke out in the town of Mentrida in central Spain's
Castile-La Mancha region about 50 kilometers (30 miles)
southwest of the capital. Local authorities urged residents to
stay home and close their windows.
Spanish authorities said the blaze had burned around 3,000
hectares (roughly 7,400 acres) by the late evening.
Firefighters deployed on the ground and in the air were working
to extinguish the fire that began around 3 pm.
Wind blew the smoke over Madrid, where in the afternoon skies
turned orange and thick with smoke.
Large parts of Spain are under heat and fire warnings, with
temperatures on Thursday reaching 37 degrees Celsius (100
degrees Fahrenheit) in Madrid.
Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with
temperatures increasing at twice the speed as the global average
since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus
Climate Change Service.
Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the
frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, which makes places
more vulnerable to wildfires.
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