Spanish authorities rescue medieval kings’ remains from approaching wildfires

Raging wildfires tearing through Spain have forced authorities to remove the remains of three kings who ruled the Aragón region in the 11th century from a monastery threatened by approaching flames.

The remains were transferred to the provincial museum in Huesca, about 80 kilometres further south, where they will remain until conditions improve, the northeastern region’s vice-president, Mar Vaquero, said, according to a Reuters report.

The wildfire, which has been burning since August 10, began moving toward the 10th-century San Juan de la Peña monastery late on August 13. Concern that the historic site could be engulfed by flames prompted authorities to launch an emergency rescue operation, Vaquero told reporters.

An emergency military unit initially managed to enter the monastery, which is located in a mountain range, and remove ceremonial clothing belonging to an 18th-century count buried at the site. However, the team was forced to flee as the flames approached.

The team returned for a second operation, this time accompanied by police officers and heritage officials. They removed the remains of Aragón’s first three kings — who ruled between 1035 and 1104 — from a pantheon inside the monastery, along with several historic paintings.

The wildfire had intensified in recent days, fuelled by high temperatures and strong winds. It has burned more than 9,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of 16 towns. The monastery remained unharmed at the time of reporting.

Persistent fires

In southern Spain, a much larger wildfire also worsened this week. The blaze has so far burned around 31,000 hectares in the province of Huelva and forced approximately 700 people to evacuate.

Since mid-July, wildfires have torn through France, Spain and Portugal, forcing almost half a million people to leave their homes.

The fires have erupted during a sweltering summer marked by repeated heatwaves across Europe, with another wave expected to continue through the end of the summer.

The extreme intensity of some of the fires has produced giant fire thunderstorms, a rare weather phenomenon that can develop above exceptionally powerful wildfires.

These storms form when intense heat from a wildfire causes air above the flames to rise rapidly, carrying smoke, ash and water vapour high into the atmosphere.

As the air rises, it cools, causing the water vapour to condense and form a cloud. If the fire is powerful enough and atmospheric conditions are unstable, the cloud can develop into a cumulonimbus — the same type of cloud associated with thunderstorms.

By Nazrin Sadigova