Due to a wildfire in the Sierra Norte natural park in Spain, residents of 28 settlements had to be evacuated, forcing 1,200 people to leave their homes, EFE news agency reports.

The fire, which started on Thursday, has already spread across 26,000 hectares.

The head of the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, said that the damage caused by the fire to the regional budget currently amounts to about 50 million euros.