More than 1,000 people remained evacuated from their homes in Spain on Monday as major wildfires continued to burn in the provinces of Castellon and Huelva, just days before large crowds are expected to gather outdoors for a total solar eclipse.
In the eastern province of Castellon, around 900 residents of Cati were evacuated as firefighters battled a wildfire near Tirig that had burned approximately 684 hectares (1,690 acres) by Monday.
The blaze was among several fires sparked following dry thunderstorms on Friday. Higher overnight humidity helped crews make progress, but authorities remained concerned about the fire’s northern flank advancing towards Cati, an area containing more than 60 livestock farms.
Meanwhile, in the southern province of Huelva, a separate wildfire near Niebla had affected around 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres) and forced 467 people to leave their homes.
Many of those evacuated were from Berrocal, which was also heavily affected by a major wildfire in 2004 that burned around 34,000 hectares.
The ongoing fires come as Spain prepares for Wednesday’s total solar eclipse, which is expected to draw large numbers of people to rural areas, mountains and other viewing locations.
Spain’s weather agency AEMET forecasts very high or extreme wildfire danger across much of the country on Wednesday.
Authorities are particularly concerned that increased numbers of visitors entering dry and forested areas could raise the risk of new fires and make access more difficult for emergency services.