Rain brings crucial help against wildfire in Northeast Spain

A soft rain is bringing respite to firefighters and Spain’s army working to quench the flames in a major forest fire that has burned over 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres) in the northeastern Catalonia region

SANT MARTI DE TOUS, Spain -- A soft rain is bringing respite to firefighters and Spain's army working to quench the flames in a major forest fire that has burned over 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres) in the northeastern Catalonia region. Regional authorities say that flames fanned by high temperatures and strong winds had burned by Monday nearly 1,300 hectares of woodland — most of them in a protected natural area — and over 300 hectares of agricultural land since it started on Saturday evening. The affected area, between the towns of Santa Coloma de Queralt and Sant Marti de Tous, is some 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Barcelona. Joan Ignasi Elena, the region's interior chief, said that emergency workers were hoping to bring the flames under control by the end of Monday.