The town of La BaƱeza, located in Spain's LeĆ³n province, has received 468 million euros from the national Christmas lottery, known as El Gordo. This financial distribution follows a period during which wildfires significantly affected the region.
Lottery Details
Most of the first-prize-winning tickets in the El Gordo lottery, bearing the number 79432, were acquired by individuals in La BaƱeza and adjacent towns within LeĆ³n province. Each individual ticket, or dĆ©cimo, costs 20 euros and awards 400,000 euros if it matches the winning number. These dĆ©cimos are sold in strips of 10, frequently purchased collectively by groups within communities or workplaces. Among the recipients of the 468 million euros in La BaƱeza, a town with approximately 11,000 residents, were members of a local football club.
Regional Context
This event occurred four months after forest fires impacted the LeĆ³n region. These fires consumed an estimated 8,000 hectares of land in the area surrounding La BaƱeza and resulted in the death of 35-year-old Abel Ramos. The northwestern part of Spain, characterized by its sparse population and significant forest cover, experiences wildfires annually. The summer period saw 0.8 percent of Spain's total land area affected by fires, with substantial blazes occurring in LeĆ³n and the neighboring Galicia region throughout August.