Figures show reduction in forest fires

THE amount of land affected by forest fires in Spain in 2014 was the lowest of the last 10 years.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment has published provisional statistics on forest fires from January 1 to November 30, 2014, on its website.

Up until November 30, fire had affected 46,158 hectares of Spanish land whereas for the same period in 2013, 70,252 hectares were affected.

Previously the lowest figure of the decade was for 2008 with 49,523 hectares affected.

North-western areas of the country suffered 42.42 per cent of the fires in 2014, while just 20.71 per cent affected Mediterranean coastal regions.

Minister Isabel Garcia Tejerina stated that the fight against fires is one of the ministry’s greatest priorities and a budget of €79.3 million is in place for 2015.