Asturias, a small region in northern Spain, claimed that the majority of the 100 or so wildfires burning in the heavily forested and mountainous area on Friday were started by unknown arsonists.

Over the past two days, the fires have spread due to unusually high spring temperatures and strong winds; 400 people had to be evacuated from villages and small towns, and several roads had to be closed for safety.

Adrián Barbón, the regional president of Asturias, declared that "fire terrorists" would face the "full weight of the law." He claimed that organized crime groups took advantage of the unfavorable weather conditions to start the fires. He made no mention of the potential motivations of the alleged arsonists

Early on Friday, firefighters in the area reported battling 116 fires across 35 different locations. The number of fires had decreased to 97 by midday.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez contacted Barbón from Beijing Friday to show his support for the area. Later, at a press conference, Sánchez stated that if it is established that the fires were intentionally started, the offenders would face punishment.

Alejandro Calvo, a councilor for rural areas in the Asturias region, said that although the cause of the fires isn't entirely clear, "evidently it is a wave of provoked fires that has no precedent."

The size of the land affected by the fires was not immediately known. According to government statistics, Spain saw a total of 267,000 hectares (666,000 acres) burn last year, making 2022 the worst year for fire destruction since 1994. That was three times the ten-year national average.

Spain accounted for 35% of all burned land in European wildfires in 2022, according to the Copernicus satellite observation service operated by the European Union.

This week, unforeseen wildfires in eastern Spain burned more than 4,600 hectares of forest, forcing 1,400 people to flee their homes. While, there were reportedly fewer fires in the province of Castellón Friday.