Emergency teams in Madrid are struggling to contain a major wildfire that has already scorched 25,000 hectares in the Sierra Oeste region. Firefighters worked overnight to stabilize the blaze, but wind gusts reaching 30 kilometers per hour continue to complicate their efforts, especially around the San Juan reservoir near San Martín de Valdeiglesias. This has become a critical front: flames from Madrid have intermittently merged with those from the Burgohondo fire in Ávila, which has devastated approximately 50,000 hectares.
Authorities say the situation remains volatile. The most concerning zones include areas near the Cofio River and south of the San Juan reservoir, along with the El Encinar del Alberche urbanization in Villa del Prado, which faced a second evacuation on Sunday. Firefighting resources are concentrated here. Unpredictable winds and the convergence of multiple fires have raised the risk of further spread.
Despite the challenges, crews made progress overnight in Burgohondo, Ávila, bringing a dangerous incident under control after embers crossed a protected roadway in Sotillo. New threats emerged late Sunday, but, when a fresh blaze was reported in Almorox, Toledo, complicating the emergency response across three regions. Around 90,000 people have been evacuated or confined because of the ongoing fires.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is scheduled to visit the area affected by the Vall d’Uixó fire in Castellón this morning. That blaze has already affected more than 4,300 hectares and forced the evacuation of over 16,000 residents from nearly twenty municipalities. Sánchez will meet emergency teams at the Advanced Command Post in La Vall d’Uixó to assess the situation and coordinate further action.
Information from Sara Aagesen, Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (Miteco), the scale of the Burgohondo fire in Ávila now makes it the largest wildfire in Spain’s recorded history. The crisis has triggered a massive mobilization of firefighting resources and exposed the vulnerability of rural and peri-urban communities to extreme fires.
The Burgohondo fire in Ávila began on 22 July near the town, about 90 kilometres west of Madrid. Spain’s Civil Guard said sparks from heavy machinery ignited vegetation, while strong winds drove the fire’s rapid expansion. As it spread, the blaze joined fires near Almorox in Toledo and San Martín de Valdeiglesias in the Madrid region. Reuters later put the combined regional fire footprint at about 63,000 hectares and reported that it came within 35 kilometres of Madrid. More than 60,000 people were evacuated in connection with the incident. It destroyed homes and farms, along with restaurants and sports facilities.
Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge later put the Burgohondo fire’s final area at 33,943 hectares. It was declared fully extinguished on 3 October after 73 days. That figure covers the Burgohondo fire, while Reuters’ later estimate describes the wider conflagration after fires merged across Ávila, Toledo and Madrid. The ministry-derived tally made Burgohondo Spain’s second-largest recent wildfire, behind the Niebla fire at 39,821 hectares. The damage persisted after suppression: later rainfall reopened damage around the Tiétar valley, where residents reported that tap water was unusable.
The emergency formed part of an exceptional national fire season. Ministry figures reported by EFE Verde recorded 275,209 hectares of burned forest land through 20 September, 2.5 times the 2016-2025 average. During the June-to-September maximum-risk period, authorities recorded 4,944 fires and 245,653 burned forest hectares. The campaign brought a concentration of large fires and heavy demand for firefighting resources, with emergencies proving complex to manage. Copernicus data reported by Europa Press put Spain’s burned area at 301,413 hectares through 21 October, 43% of the European Union total. Fires in Madrid and Ávila, along with those in Toledo at the end of July, accounted for more than 77,000 hectares.
During the week of 24 to 30 July, Spain entered Operational Situation 3 (SO3), an unprecedented emergency level requiring national coordination. In the hardest-hit areas, command was transferred to the Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME). Ávila and Madrid were among the provinces under greatest pressure, as was Castellón. European assistance was also mobilized as simultaneous fires strained domestic resources. Miteco figures reported by Europa Press show that firefighting aviation logged more than 10,000 flight hours and 50,259 water drops during the 2026 campaign, both national records.
For more context on Madrid’s developing wildfire situation and the challenges of merging fire fronts, see this recent report on emergency operations in southwest Madrid.
Spain’s wildfire season has grown increasingly severe in recent years. Prolonged drought and high temperatures, along with strong winds, have contributed to the frequency and intensity of major fires. The emergencies in Madrid and Ávila, as well as the fire in Castellón, point to the need for coordinated regional responses and continued investment in fire prevention and rapid intervention. In 2026, the scale of the season showed in the area burned and the record deployment of aerial firefighting resources.
