Day-trippers confess to starting deadly forest blaze

A GROUP of day-trippers have confessed to starting the blaze that killed 11 firefighters in central Spain in the country’s worst firefighting loss in years.

The group of 10 told the Civil Guard that their barbecue in a nature reserve of pine woodland in the Guadalajara province east of Madrid ignited the fire, said Carmen Vallejo, spokesperson for the Interior Ministry of the Castilla y La Mancha region.

Only the person who ignited the barbecue faces formal charges pending further investigation, she said.

The blaze one of the biggest in Spain this summer and the deadliest in years has charred an estimated 29,600 acres.

Firefighters were still fighting the fire yesterday but were expected to have the blaze under control later in the day.

"The fire is practically under control but not totally extinguished," said Ms Vallejo. She added that only 40 of the 400 people evacuated had not yet returned home.

The firefighters men and women ranging in age from 24 to 52 died after they were trapped in the fire on Sunday when a change of wind altered the direction of the flames. Only two of the 11 bodies have been formally identified, Ms Vallejo said.

Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega called for tougher and speedier legal action against people who started such fires.

Spain also is suffering from its worst drought since officials began keeping records in the late 1940s.