Over the past ten days, western regions of Spain have faced some of the most devastating wildfires in recent years. The fires swept through mountainous areas, destroying nearly 400,000 hectares of forest and farmland. By Saturday, the situation began to improve: the number of active category-two fires dropped from 16 to 13, and only one — in Igüeña, León province — continues to cause serious concern for firefighting services.
The challenging terrain in León hampers the work of ground crews, especially on the northern slopes where access to the fire’s sources is limited. Nevertheless, the situation in other regions has significantly improved. In the province of Cáceres, where the fire near Jarilla raged for several days, the blaze was stabilized as early as Friday morning. Specialists are now cooling the scorched 17,300 hectares to prevent any reignition.
In Galicia, where the largest wildfire in the region’s history was recorded — in Larouco (Ourense) — the spread of the fire was halted by Saturday morning. The burned area exceeded 30,000 hectares. In Pontevedra province, the fire in Volaboa has been downgraded to zero operational status, meaning it no longer poses a threat to the population or the environment.
Positive trends are also being reported in other areas. In León, the fires in Peres and Barniedo de la Reina are gradually dying down, and in the province of Zamora, the situation in Porto is also stabilizing. Thanks to this, many residents who were previously evacuated from dangerous zones have started to return home. In particular, in the village of Peñalba De Santiago (León), the situation has improved, although local residents remain under isolation for safety reasons.
Despite these achievements, concern remains: evacuations continue in six localities, and 838 people from 14 villages are still displaced from their homes. Another 235 residents from 11 settlements remain in isolation. Official data confirm that firefighting efforts are ongoing in three autonomous communities, where weather conditions continue to be challenging.
By midday Saturday, authorities announced full control over seven fires, while three more have been stabilized and are under observation. In total, there are still 13 active category two wildfires in the country, with forces from different regions of Spain and other European countries mobilized to help through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
The issue of raising the alert level is under discussion at the national level. However, according to the leadership of the national civil protection service, none of the autonomous communities has requested the declaration of a state of emergency at the national level. If such a decision were made, control of the operation would pass to the Ministry of the Interior, affecting Galicia, Castilla y León, Extremadura, and part of Asturias.
In recent days, political debates have flared up around the authorities’ actions. The head of the national civil protection service has faced criticism from the opposition, but chose not to respond to the accusations, emphasizing that she will not tolerate any doubts about the professionalism of firefighters and rescuers.
Despite the improving situation, experts remain cautiously optimistic. The work ahead includes eliminating the consequences and preventing new outbreaks, as well as supporting affected regions and helping people return to normal life.
