Spain arrests alleged arsonist linked to wildfire as second firefighter dies

A second volunteer firefighter has died after battling a wildfire in the northern Spanish province of Leon, while police arrested a man for allegedly starting a separate blaze as the country faced one of its worst summers for fires in 20 years.

“Today we mourn the death of another member of the team fighting fires in Leon,” Nicanor Sen, the national government’s representative in Castile and Leon wrote on X.

Local media identified the man as 37-year-old Jaime Aparicio, who suffered burns to 85% of his body after being trapped alongside another volunteer near the town of Nogarejas as they attempted to create firebreaks with brush cutters. He was the seventh fatality linked to wildfires this year.

Read more: Reuters