Forest Fire in Spain's Aragon Region 'Evolving Favorably,' Officials Say

Spanish officials said on July 21 that the Ateca forest fire in northeast Spain’s Aragon region was “evolving favorably” and had been “stabilized.”

Officials said people who had been forced to evacuate their homes in the region would be allowed to return.

This footage, taken on Tuesday, July 19, by Felix Jordan de Urries Mur, shows the fire burning in Bubierca. A local news outlet reported that the A-2 motorway depicted in the footage was cut off by fire minutes later.

By Wednesday, the blaze had scorched approximately 14,000 hectares (about 54 square miles), according to the Zaragoza Provincial Council.

The European Forest Fire Information System reported that this year’s wildfires in Spain are the worst the country has experienced in 10 years, with more than 746 square miles (193,247 hectares) of forest scorched so far. Credit: Félix Jordán de Urries Mur via Storyful