Spain battles major wildfires as heatwave looms
Wildfires across central Spain have forced tens of thousands to evacuate, while a heatwave expected to bring temperatures near 40 °C threatens to worsen the situation.
Firefighters have been battling multiple wildfires in central Spain for a week, prompting the evacuation of more than 56,500 people in the Madrid region and additional evacuations in Ávila, Toledo and Valencia. The fires have burned an estimated 77,000 hectares nationwide.
A heatwave forecast to begin on Wednesday is expected to push temperatures toward 40 °C in some areas, with the national meteorological agency warning that fire-danger levels will rise to extreme levels, complicating suppression efforts.
Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the affected zones on Monday. Sánchez said the coming days would be “highly challenging” but expressed optimism that “light is beginning to appear at the end of the tunnel.”
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told state television that firefighting operations on Monday night achieved “relatively positive progress” and that authorities were “satisfied with the work done” while noting that weather conditions remained unfavorable.
Sánchez announced that the most affected areas have been declared disaster zones and called on regional governments to cooperate on fire prevention and reconstruction, emphasizing the need to address the climate emergency.
The Madrid region remains under a red weather warning, with temperatures expected to reach 35 °C in mountainous zones and 38 °C elsewhere. Authorities said current efforts will focus on surveillance and cooling of the fire-affected zones ahead of the worsening forecast.
Psychologists working in evacuation shelters reported rising anxiety among evacuees as the duration of displacement remains uncertain.