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After being engulfed in flames, a VOLUNTEER Firefighter lost his life due to wildfires spreading across the provinces of Leon and Zamora.
Abel Ramos Falagan died Tuesday night when two walls of flames raced towards him while he was working to create firebreaks in the vicinity of Quintana y Congosto, a village that had been evacuated. El Pais report.
The construction worker, originally from the tiny 215-resident village but living in nearby La Bañeza, had rushed to help when smoke began rising from the massive blaze that started in Molezuelas de la Carballeda, Zamora, before spreading uncontrolled into Leon.
Ramos donated his brush-cutting machinery and rented other equipment before he presented himself at the emergency command station. He was sent to clear the terrain along a forest route to stop the fire from spreading.
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“They were trying create a backfire to stop the front from advancing,” recalled a friend who brought him some water at 5.30pm. Just over an hr later, the changing winds sealed his death.
Juan Carlos Suárez-Quiñones, Castilla y Leon’s Environment Minister, confirmed that Ramos was ‘enveloped by two tongues of fire’ at approximately 7pm. He died from his injuries hours later.
Jaime, Jaime’s companion, was hospitalised with severe burns.
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Ramos, who was vice-president of a motorcycle club in La Bañeza and organised local rallies, was remembered by friends as ‘very committed’ to his community.
Despite having lived elsewhere, his roots remained in Quintana y Congosto. He regularly donated construction machinery to local festivals and community initiatives.
The blaze that started on Sunday is one of the biggest recorded in Spain.
The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) reported that it has a perimeter of 38,000 hectares as of Wednesday night – almost the size of Madrid, although it does not necessarily mean that everything within it has been destroyed.
In Leon and Zamora, almost 4,000 people have been evacuated in 23 locations.
Put it in context: the largest fire recorded was the Minas de Riotinto, which burned 29.867 hectares across the provinces Sevilla and Huelva during the summer 2004.
Ramos died as Spain was battling one of the worst wildfire seasons in its history, and Europe is on track to have its worst ever wildfire season with temperatures exceeding 43C.
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The Leon blaze was just one of many major wildfires which have ravaged Spain in the last few days. These include blazes in Tarifa, where more than 2,000 people, including a number of tourists, were evacuated; around Carucedo, in Castile-Leon region; and at UNESCO World Heritage Site Las Medulas.
The second fatality is confirmed from the current fire wave. An employee of an equestrian center in Spain suffered severe burns and passed away in hospital, Tres Cantos. This was fueled by winds up to 70 km/h.
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The fire has devastated both villages of Quintana y Congosto – in the former, flames tore through homes, leaving only façades standing whilst roof gutters hang twisted and windows lie shattered across the streets.
Emergency crews are still trying to contain hotspots in the evacuated villages.
Regional President Alfonso Fernandez Mañueco has promised the regional government will cover all costs from the catastrophic fires, though locals remain sceptical given unfulfilled promises following the devastating 2022 Sierra de la Culebra fires in Zamora.
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