National Emergency Declared And 60,000 Evacuated As Madrid Widfire Takes Hold
The Spanish government has declared a national emergency for the first time in response to wildfires that have been spreading rapidly around Madrid and the neighbouring autonomous community of Castilla y León and Castilla La Mancha
Some 70,000 residents of affected areas have already been evacuated.
The Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the government had committed every available resource to the emergency.
‘The government has deployed every available resource to stop the terrible fires currently affecting numerous areas: Ávila, León, Toledo, Madrid and other parts of Spain,’ he wrote on X, urging the public to exercise ‘great caution’ and follow official instructions.
‘We are experiencing a dramatic situation, not just in several Spanish regions but also in neighboring countries. My solidarity with all the people who have been affected and been forced to leave their homes.’
Madrid´s regional premier, Isabel Diaz said that “this is the worst wildfire in our region’s history,”
“It’s the perfect storm of very high temperatures and ceaseless winds that aren’t letting up.”
The fire has already destroyed 45,000 hectares, prompting the evacuation of ten municipalities and the displacement of around 60,000 people.
To date twelve villages in the Madrid region have been evacuated; Chapinería, Navas del Rey, Colmenar del Arroyo, Fresnedillas de la Oliva, Robledo de Chavela, Navalagamella, Aldea del Fresno, Zarzalejo, la pedanía de Peralejo, Rozas de Puerto Real, Cadalso de los Vidrios and Cenicientos and four towns; San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Pelayos de la Presa, Valdemaqueda, and Villa del Prado remain under strict stay-at-home orders, with local police and emergency services urging residents to avoid going outside due to heavy smoke.
In the neighbouring autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha, authorities have released the footage of the devastating wildfire that engulfed the village of La Mierla, in Guadalajara, on the 20th July.
The video shows intense flames rising from the tree line as ground crews work through the night alongside the Military Emergencies Unit (UME) to keep the fire from reaching populated centres, as 26,000 hectares (64,247 acres) have already burnt in the region, with a total of more than 104,000 hectares (257,000 acres) having already burned across Spain so far this year.
Regional authorities said the CECOPI emergency coordination body has ordered the evacuation of the villages of Hiendelaencina, Congostrina and San Andres de Congosto, taking the total number of displaced residents to more than 1,200 people across 28 municipalities.
The blaze has been classified at Level 2 on the Spanish emergency scale, and residents in affected areas were sent Es-Alert warnings on their mobile phones.
Some 278 personnel were deployed alongside 53 ground vehicles and two aerial units, and INFOCAM said more resources would be added throughout the morning.
Emiliano Garcia-Page, president of the Castilla-La Mancha regional government, said on 20th July: “The La Mierla fire in Guadalajara is the largest that Castilla-La Mancha has ever known, with more than 26,000 hectares burned.
“We have a historic deployment of aerial resources, personnel and machinery, and tomorrow we will address the recovery plans for the municipalities.”
He also warned that almost 30 population centres are now surrounded by flames.
The fire broke out on 16th July in an agricultural area, apparently ignited by harvesting activity, according to Mercedes Gomez, regional minister for sustainable development.
She said the blaze had already reached the core of the Sierra Norte de Guadalajara Natural Park, a protected area of high ecological value.
Spain’s national weather agency AEMET has warned that the country’s third heatwave of the year is expected to last at least until Thursday, with temperatures forecast to climb as high as 42 to 44 degrees Celsius (108 to 111 Fahrenheit) across parts of the southeastern interior.
