Spain's first major wildfire of the year raged in the eastern Valencia region on Friday where it forced 1,500 residents to abandon their homes and destroyed more than 7,400 acres of forest.

An unusually dry winter across parts of the south of Europe has reduced moisture in the soil and raised fears of a repeat of 2022, when 785,000 hectares were destroyed across the continent.

This is more than double the annual average for the past 16 years, according to European Commission (EC) statistics.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told a news conference in Brussels that the fires are proof of the 'climate emergency that humanity is living through'. 

In Spain, 493 fires destroyed a record 307,000 hectares of land last year, according to the Commission's European Forest Fire Information System.
Spain's first major wildfire of the year raged in the eastern Valencia region on Friday where it destroyed more than 7,400 acres of forest and forced 1,500 residents to abandon their homes. Pictured, a forest fire in the hills near Villanueva de Viver, Spain on Friday morning
An unusually dry winter across parts of the south of Europe has reduced moisture in the soil and raised fears of a repeat of 2022, when 785,000 hectares were destroyed across the continent. Pictured, smoke raises from a forest fire burning below as a firefighting plane flies over San Agustin, Spain
More than 500 firefighters supported by 18 planes and helicopters worked throughout the night and on Friday to tackle the blaze near the village of Villanueva de Viver, in the Valencia region. Pictured, a military plane drops water on a wildfire in San Agustin, Spain