Spain declares national emergency for Madrid and Ávila as wildfires force 10,000 evacuations

National emergency declared

The Spanish Interior Ministry announced overnight to Friday that a "national emergency of national scope" now applies to the Madrid region and the neighbouring province of Ávila. The declaration, effective immediately, allows the state to mobilise additional funds and resources, and automatically transfers operational command to a military crisis unit. The move follows days of uncontrolled wildfires that have encircled the capital, stretching emergency services and forcing mass evacuations.

Evacuations west and southwest of Madrid

On Thursday, authorities ordered 3,500 residents of Aldea del Fresno, a town 60 kilometres west of Madrid, to leave their homes as a fire burned out of control nearby. Residents were directed to a neighbouring locality to keep them away from the flames. Eighteen firefighting units and personnel from the Military Emergency Unit (UME) were deployed, with several roads cut off by the advancing fire. A day earlier, three communities southwest of Madrid, Encinar del Alberche, Ribera del Alberche and Rincón del Alberche, were evacuated after a fire broke out in the municipality of Almorox, about 70 kilometres from the capital. Villa del Prado was placed under curfew. The Guardia Civil closed multiple traffic routes and warned residents about the dangers of smoke.

Exercise extreme caution when driving, as visibility is severely limited by the smoke.

Civil Protection separately advised people with respiratory conditions to keep windows closed at night to reduce exposure. In total, around 10,000 people have been forced from their homes in the areas surrounding Madrid, though residents of the communities evacuated on Wednesday were largely allowed to return after conditions improved.

Largest fire burns in Guadalajara

The biggest single wildfire is raging in the province of Guadalajara, roughly 100 kilometres north of Madrid. It has consumed 32,000 hectares since it started on Thursday of the previous week. Across Spain, nearly 125,000 hectares have burned since 1 January, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis). Earlier in July, a fire in the southern province of Almería killed 13 people and destroyed 7,000 hectares, making it one of the deadliest wildfires in recent Spanish history.

France battles Bordeaux blaze

Neighbouring France is also fighting significant fires. A blaze near the Arcachon basin, close to Bordeaux, broke out on Wednesday and has burned around 2,000 hectares. Authorities evacuated 12,000 tourists and residents from six campsites and a naturist resort north of Cap Ferret in the early hours of Thursday. France has already surpassed its previous annual record for burned area: more than 42,000 hectares went up in flames between January and mid-July, exceeding the previous high set in 2022.

Heatwave fuels fire risk

Temperatures are rising again across Spain as a new heatwave begins, increasing the danger of further fires. The Almería tragedy and the multiple fronts around Madrid have stretched emergency services. The national emergency declaration for Madrid and Ávila is the government's response to a crisis that has already claimed lives and scorched an area larger than many European cities.