Firefighters from Spain and France efficiently contained a wildfire close to the shared Mediterranean coastal border on Saturday, due to favorable climate circumstances that allowed aerial firefighting efforts.

Over 130 folks have been evacuated from a number of villages in a single day as sturdy winds unfold the flames round Portbou, a preferred forested space on the Spanish aspect of the border.

The hearth, which began on Friday, has burned roughly 573 hectares (1,400 acres) of land round Portbou, an space that has a cross-border rail service connecting to France.

A spokesperson from the Catalonia regional authorities introduced on Saturday afternoon that the hearth has ceased spreading, and the evacuation order has been lifted.

Nonetheless, residents are suggested to stay at house and keep away from pointless journey.

A complete of 300 firefighters from Catalonia and a dozen French hearth engine crews joined forces to fight the blaze.

The firefighters reported that the winds have subsided sufficient to permit water bombers and helicopters to help within the firefighting operations, however they might not present an estimate for when the hearth shall be utterly below management.

Meteorologists have forecasted that the winds will choose up once more within the night, after gusting at speeds of as much as 100 kilometers (60 miles) per hour on Friday night time.

Earlier on Saturday, the flames got here dangerously near homes within the Llanca space, positioned south of Portbou.

Rail companies between Portbou and Figueras to the south have been resumed, and energy has been restored to as much as 4,000 houses, in response to Catalan civil safety officers.

Regional authorities have initiated an investigation into the reason for the hearth.

Within the earlier yr, Spain skilled over 500 wildfires that devastated greater than 300,000 hectares of land, setting a report for Europe, as reported by the European Forest Fireplace Info System (Effis).

To this point this yr, about 70,000 hectares have been destroyed, in response to Effis information.

© 2023 AFP