Strong wind complicates fighting wildfire in southeast Spain

MADRID (AP) — Strong winds have further complicated the battle against a wildfire that has torn through more than 3,600 hectares of forest land, prompting the evacuation of 1,000 people in southeastern Spain and leading to the death of a firefighter. The military’s emergency brigade was on standby to intervene, as hundreds of firefighters worked through the night to clear out burnable material and open firewalls in the forest of a mountain range in the Malaga province. Arson is suspected. Wildfires — some natural and others manmade — are common in southern Europe during the hot, dry summer months. In Spain, some 74,200 hectares (186,000 acres) of forest and bush areas have burned so far in 2021.