Spain says fire that threatened Donana park ‘under control’

In this photo, taken June 25, 2017, and made available by the Spanish Air Force on June 26, 2017, a Spanish firefighting plane flies over the fires in the Moguer area in southern Spain. A forest fire in southern Spain has forced the evacuation of 1,000 people and is threatening Doñana National Park, one of Spain’s most important nature reserves and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1994, and famous for its biodiversity, authorities said Sunday. (Photo from the Spanish Air Force via AP)

MADRID — Spain’s interior minister says firefighters have brought under control a wildfire that threatened Doñana National Park, a celebrated conservation wetland and home to the endangered Iberian lynx.

In a note on his official Twitter account Tuesday, Juan Ignacio Zoido says that roads had been reopened in the area and some 250 soldiers deployed to combat the blaze were returning to base.

Some 600 firefighters, including the soldiers, have been working to prevent the fire on Spain’s southwestern coast from spreading east to Donana, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1994.

It was not immediately known when the fire, which started Saturday, might be fully extinguished./rga