Las Hurdes Wildfire Stabilizes as Extremadura Revises Burned Area to 4,250 Hectares

Emergency response and containment

The wildfire that ignited around midday on Tuesday along a roadside in Pinofranqueado has progressed favorably across the Las Hurdes comarca in Caceres. Regional authorities lowered the estimated burned area from 4,800 to 4,250 hectares at midnight on Friday, after reduced smoke enabled a more precise assessment. Firefighting efforts maintain operational situation level 2 under the Infoex and Infocaex emergency plans. Earlier on Thursday, the deployment included 273 terrestrial personnel, 26 aircraft comprising 18 helicopters and eight amphibious planes, and nine units of heavy machinery. By late Thursday night, 163 active personnel remained engaged in direct suppression on the ground.

Extremadura President Maria Guardiola reported on Thursday morning that weather improvements, including dropping temperatures and higher humidity, had slowed the advance of the flames.

We continue with caution and some optimism, because the weather is on our side today, and with all our strength to keep delivering good news.

Containment at the Malvellido River

During Thursday afternoon, emergency coordination focused heavily on preventing the fire from breaching the Malvellido River between Martilandral and Cerezal. Officials identified the river corridor as an impassable boundary, warning that a crossing would create an entirely different fire dynamic heading toward Asegur and force wider evacuations across populated areas.

Abel Bautista, the regional vice president and minister of the presidency and emergencies, emphasized the priority of holding that natural perimeter during a midday briefing.

It is not about raising alarm, but neither is it about hiding anything. That is our red line and that is the line we must protect whatever it takes.

Crews successfully contained the fire at the river corridor by late Thursday evening. Although the Malvellido sector remained a monitored hot zone, the fire did not cross the waterway.

Evacuation returns and infrastructure status

The containment allowed authorities to begin de-escalating safety measures for roughly 800 evacuees and 1,200 confined residents from 11 evacuated hamlets. Evacuees initially sheltered at the Gregorio Maranon student residence in Caminomorisco, while vulnerable individuals were transferred to Plasencia. On Thursday morning, residents of Robledo received permission to return home without restrictions, while returnees in Castillo and Avellanar were initially confined to town centres.

By late Thursday night, the Integrated Operational Coordination Centre (Cecopi) authorized the return of residents to Aceitunilla, Erias, and Cerezal, maintaining urban-core confinement only in Cerezal. Restrictions were simultaneously lifted in Avellanar, Castillo, and Nunomoral. Coordination with Iberdrola also enabled the complete restoration of the electrical grid across all affected municipalities.

Active hotspots and perimeter surveillance

Despite general stabilization, emergency crews continue overnight operations against remaining hotspots. In the western sector around Horcajo, ground personnel remain deployed to suppress lingering hot areas. In the northern area between El Gasco and the border with Salamanca in Castilla y Leon, two inaccessible hotspots continue as the most active front, awaiting morning aerial strikes. Civil Guard and Civil Protection units maintain patrols throughout the affected valleys to monitor security and assist local communities.