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Over 160,000 evacuated as fierce wildfires ravage Spain and France
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Disasters & Emergencies

Over 160,000 evacuated as fierce wildfires ravage Spain and France

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Over 160,000 people have been evacuated due to severe wildfires raging across southwestern France and near Madrid, Spain.
  • Two major fires west of Madrid are threatening to merge, exacerbating the crisis, with one already burning approximately 6,000 hectares.
  • Extreme weather conditions, including high winds and high temperatures, are hampering firefighting efforts, with authorities detaining suspects in one of the fires.

Fierce wildfires are tearing through parts of France and Spain, forcing the evacuation of over 160,000 people and creating a dire situation for firefighters. In Spain, two significant blazes west of Madrid are perilously close to merging, threatening to create an even larger inferno. The regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, described the fire near Madrid as the "worst in history" for the area, with at least 63,000 people evacuated or confined to their homes.

The forecast is that the wind will continue, and therefore, until the night, the fire may continue to advance.

— Fran Martín AguirreRegional government delegate explaining the worsening conditions of the Madrid fire.

Firefighters are battling to contain the flames, but the relentless wind and high temperatures are making their task incredibly difficult. The fire in the Madrid region has already consumed around 6,000 hectares, while another in the neighboring province of Castilla y León has scorched an estimated 9,000 hectares. The regional environment counselor warned that the fire in the southwest of the Madrid region is at its "peak moment" and "beyond the capacity to extinguish."

Our country and Europe are experiencing a dramatic situation.

— Pedro SánchezSpanish Prime Minister commenting on the severity of the wildfires.

Adding to the challenges, the Spanish Guardia Civil has detained one person and is investigating another as potential arsonists in the Castilla y León fire. While these fires rage, a separate blaze in Guadalajara, which had burned 32,000 hectares, is now stabilizing, allowing for the withdrawal of military personnel. However, the fires near Madrid continue to threaten populated residential areas, surrounded by flammable forests and scrubland.

The fire in the southwest of the region is at its 'peak moment' and 'beyond the capacity to extinguish.'

— Carlos NovilloRegional Minister of Environment describing the intensity of a Madrid-area wildfire.

The extreme weather conditions are not only complicating firefighting but also impacting critical infrastructure. The fires have even affected NASA's ability to communicate with its deep space probes, as flames encroached upon one of the agency's three Deep Space Network (DSN) facilities in Spain. The situation remains critical, with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez calling it a "dramatic situation" for Spain and Europe.

I am 53 years old and I have seen important fires, but one as large as this, no.

— Félix HernándezTown councilor of Aldea del Fresno, a completely evacuated municipality, expressing the unprecedented scale of the fire.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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