WILDFIRE DISASTER
Authorities battle Galicia blaze
"We have a tough day ahead of us," says spokeswoman
A major forest fire that has burned through 2,000 hectares of land in the Galician municipalities of Oia, O Rosal and Tomiño, south of Vigo, was still out of control at press time, and was advancing toward the border with Portugal, authorities reported on Tuesday evening.
"For now, the population centers are under control, but we have a tough day ahead of us," warned the Galician commissioner for Rural Affairs, Rosa Quintana. "Technicians have told me that they have never seen a fire like this one, because the wind currents keep changing the direction of the flames, forcing them to modify their strategies to put it out." Dozens of residents of Oia, where the fire began, have been evacuated.
