Firefighters still working to control Montsant blaze

Firefighters are still working this Saturday to prevent the spread of the wildfire burning in Cabacés, in the area of Priorat.

The fire was considered stabilized on Friday evening after burning about 110 hectares and threatening the Montsant mountain range.

Overnight, more than 100 personnel and about 20 fire brigades worked on the boundaries of the fire to prevent it from spreading further, and the crews are now working to finish closing the entire perimeter with a line of water.

Firefighters are confident the fire will be brought under control during the afternoon if weather conditions do not worsen.

The mayor of Cabacés, Jaume Pujals, has called for "structural measures" to mitigate the damages from the ongoing drought in the Priorat region.

Pujals says that further aid is needed to deal with fires like the Cabacés one burning since Thursday.

The mayor was pleased that the fire did not end up burning the Montsant natural park widely, as happened in 1982 with about 6,000 hectares burned. "It would have been a catastrophe," he said.