Spain declares national emergency in Madrid region over forest fires

Spain late Thursday declared a national emergency in the Madrid region and in the province of Avila, near the capital, in the wake of several wildfires burning out of control. The measure, announced by the interior ministry, aims to speed up the deployment of resources to fight the fires, which in the Madrid region have forced the evacuation of 10,000 people, and places the response to the crisis in the hands of a military emergency unit.

In total, more than 10,000 people have been evacuated in recent days from across the Madrid region, where several forest fires are burning simultaneously. Spanish authorities early Thursday sent evacuation messages to 3,500 people in Aldea de Fresno, about 60 kilometres (38 miles) from Madrid.

The fire that broke out Thursday in Avila is spreading out of control and residents in the municipalities of Burgohondo, El Tiemblo and Navaluenga have been ordered to stay indoors, according to Spanish media reports. In addition, 1,500 people have been evacuated from a rural tourism complex and a housing development in El Tiemblo because of the rapid advance of the flames, El Pais newspaper said.

The largest fire is on the other side of Madrid, in the province of Guadalajara, about 100 kilometres north of the capital, and has devastated 32,000 hectares (80,000 acres) since last Thursday. "The government has deployed every available resource to stop the terrible fires currently affecting numerous areas: Avila, Leon, Toledo, Madrid and other parts of Spain," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said earlier on X, urging the public to exercise "great caution" and heed instructions from authorities.

Almost 125,000 hectares (309,000 acres) have already burnt in Spain this year compared with 393,000 for the whole of last year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).