Wildfire kills 2 people in Spain amid European heat wave
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Two people died in northeastern Spain in a wildfire that spread quickly before firefighters brought it under control, authorities said Wednesday.
Catalan regional president Salvador Illa announced the deaths that occurred late Tuesday in a social media post around midnight.
The fire came amid a European heat wave that has sent thermometers soaring across large areas of the continent and set record high temperatures for June in Spain and Portugal.
The blaze broke out in the rural province of Lleida, sending a huge pillar of smoke over the rural countryside that it rapidly consumed.
Authorities issued warnings to residents via messages to smart phones and ordered 14,000 people to stay indoors, firefighters said. That order was lifted late on Tuesday.
A total of 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) was burned before firefighters established a perimeter and declared the blaze under control.
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