Over 3,000 people evacuated in Spain due to forest fire

A wildfire in mountains of southern Spain has forced the evacuation of more than 3,000 people from the center of the town of Benahavis and injured three firefighters, Report informs referring to Aljazeera.

The blaze started on June 8 afternoon on the slopes of Pujerra mountain in the Sierra Bermeja, above the Costa del Sol, a magnet for tourists on the Andalusia coast, Andalusia’s Wildfire Department (INFOCA) said on Twitter.

The 8,000-resident community of Benahavis and 300-resident village of Pujerra, west of Malaga, were most at risk, state broadcaster RTVE reported, citing regional politicians and fire brigade spokespersons.

Temperatures of more than 30C, drought and strong winds continued to hamper firefighting efforts in the area on June 9, RTVE said.

However, the situation was expected to improve during the course of the day as winds drop.

About 500 members of the fire brigade, civil defense and the UME military emergency unit were deployed, the Andalusia emergency services tweeted. No buildings have been affected, according to officials.