Forest fire northeast of Madrid grows to 26,000 hectares – thousands evacuated

García-Page described the fire as the worst forest fire in the history of Castilla-La Mancha. Hundreds of emergency personnel on the ground are using heavy equipment to create firebreaks to stop the spread. Spain's Military Emergency Unit (UME) is also involved in the firefighting efforts.

Emergency personnel and evacuations

According to media reports, around 45 firefighting planes and helicopters are deployed. The fire is located, according to information from those familiar with the incident, about one hundred kilometers north of Spain's capital Madrid. Southwesterly winds drove the smoke clouds away from Madrid, where hundreds of thousands wanted to celebrate the Spanish national football team's World Cup victory in the evening.

The authorities ordered the evacuation of around 1,200 people from 30 threatened localities. Affected residents were brought to safety while emergency personnel continue to battle the flames.

Background: heat wave and dry vegetation

Just last week, a fire in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia claimed 13 lives, including seven British and three Belgian nationals, mostly elderly people living abroad in the province of Almería. Authorities see Spain and other European countries in an ongoing forest fire season.

Heavy rainfall last winter and spring promoted the growth of grasses, scrub and underbrush in Spain. This vegetation is now acting as tinder due to the summer heat. From Tuesday, another heat wave with temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius is expected in the region, which is likely to make firefighting operations additionally more difficult.

Forest fire season in Spain and Europe

According to data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), large-scale fires in Spain since the beginning of 2025 have destroyed more than 100,000 hectares of land. The burned area is thus more than double that of the same period the previous year. Last year, the worst fire phase did not begin until August, when the burned area grew within a few weeks from around 47,000 to 380,000 hectares.

Neighboring Portugal and other European states have also been affected by a series of forest fires for weeks. Spain is thus experiencing one of the most severe forest fire seasons in recent memory, while weather forecasts show no short-term relief.