Spain declared a national emergency over wildfires for the first time on Friday, evacuating more than 10,000 people from towns in the mountains west of Madrid as three fires burned across the region and neighbouring Avila province.
The declaration allows the government to take direct charge of coordinating the emergency response. More than 270 emergency personnel and 40 ground units have been deployed alongside Military Emergency Unit contingents. The last time Spain declared the same level of emergency alert was during a massive nationwide power blackout last year.
“I’ve lived here for 36 years and I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Javier Martin, a resident of Navaluenga in Avila province, who watched firefighting helicopters scoop water from the town’s river late on Thursday. “I thought they were going to get it under control last night, but it was already late, and it was all out of control.”
More than 350 fires have burned across Spain so far this year, according to the EU’s European Forest Fire Information System. In 2025, a record surface area was destroyed by wildfires in the country.
(Reuters)
