Wildfires raging across central Spain have consumed at least 77,000 hectares – including a record-breaking 50,000‑hectare blaze in Ávila – and affected nearly 90,000 people, according to official data from the Ecological Transition and Interior ministries as of Sunday.
This far, 59,896 people have been evacuated and 29,867 confined to their homes, while 106,000 individuals remain under evacuation or confinement orders across the region.
Firefighting teams have begun to contain the advance of several active blazes, with some fronts already declared extinguished.
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In a televised interview, UME Lieutenant Colonel Alfonso Arribas explained that only a few active fronts remain, and expressed hope that weather conditions would permit operations on out‑of‑control zones, though he stressed that this does not apply to the entire fire perimeter. UME second chief General Fernando Martín Pascual told the press that while crews are acting with great effectiveness on many fronts, the fires present “tremendous complexity” and frequently exceed extinguishing capacity.
Massive wildfires are raging across Spain and France, forcing over 300,000 people to evacuate.
Satellite imagery overlaid with heat signatures shows the intensity of these fires. The wildfire in the Ávila region west of Madrid is Spain’s largest wildfire in recent history. pic.twitter.com/Fz3fUULcvK
— Collin Gross (@CollinGrossWx) July 26, 2026
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, visiting the advanced command post in Ávila, confirmed that the fire control evolution is proving “very positive” and some blazes are already “consolidated”, but warned that teams still face “very complex” hours ahead. He added that they are working to consolidate certain areas which appear to be stabilised.
Sánchez lamented the overwhelming scale of the disaster, noting that 150,000 hectares have burned since January 1 – an increase of 20,000 hectares compared to just 24 hours earlier. He insisted that the fight against wildfires must translate into a major pact against climate change, particularly given the extreme climate swings from heavy snowfall to devastating fires.
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.