Madrid, 25 July 2021 (dpa/MIA) - A forest fire about 100 kilometres west of Barcelona has destroyed 1,100 hectares of forest and farmland, Catalonia's Forestry Commission said on Twitter on Sunday. There are concerns that the wind, which usually starts around midday in the region, will further fuel the fire, due to high temperatures of around 30 degrees and severe drought. Up to 5,000 hectares are directly threatened. It is the biggest forest fire of the year so far in the densely forested region of Catalonia, the newspaper El Periodico wrote. The ashes have already reached parts of Barcelona. In addition to the local fire brigades and forest firefighting units, soldiers of the Spanish armed forces have been in action to put out the flames since Sunday morning. Farmers in the region were called to plough their fields immediately to create barriers against the flames. About 80 people in the region had to leave their homes since the fire started on Saturday. It is unknown what started the blaze. Last weekend, a forest fire further north on the Costa Brava destroyed 415 hectares of forest in the Cap de Creus nature reserve.