Disasters & Incidents
Madrid wildfire has almost no flames left, officials say
Spanish authorities said Thursday that wildfires threatening areas near Madrid had stopped spreading and had “almost no flames” left, although two towns remained evacuated near the San Juan reservoir.
The Madrid regional prefecture said night-time weather had helped crews cool the area and reinforce the perimeter, which it described as clearly stabilised. It said there had been no spread for several days, with few smoking spots and no active fronts.
Authorities said only around 1,000 people remained evacuated. They warned, however, that an ongoing heatwave could bring a resurgence of fire in areas west of Madrid, where more than 25,000 hectares have already burned.
The Madrid regional authority said the fire risk remained “very high, even extreme in some areas” and that crews would focus on keeping the perimeter stable, watching for new outbreaks and cooling hot spots.
The most critical area on Thursday morning was near the San Juan reservoir, about 60 kilometres from central Madrid, where two towns remained evacuated.
The Madrid-region fire was among wildfires that had burned nearly 80,000 hectares overall in Spain, authorities said earlier. Emergency services had been working since last Thursday on the Madrid-region blaze and another in nearby Avila province.
Update
Spanish authorities said there were no longer any active fronts in the Madrid-region wildfire.
Authorities said more than 25,000 hectares had burned in areas west of Madrid.
The area near the San Juan reservoir was described as the most critical area on Thursday morning.
Two towns remained evacuated, with only around 1,000 people still evacuated overall.
Source note: AFP news report published on 30 July 2026 at 06:46:41 UTC.
Update
The Madrid regional prefecture said the fire perimeter was clearly stabilised, with no spread for several days, few smoking spots and almost no flames left.
The prefecture said only about 1,000 evacuees remained.
Source note: AFP news report published on 30 July 2026 at 06:28:43 UTC.
Update
Spanish authorities said almost no flames were left in the fire near Madrid.
Source note: AFP news report published on 30 July 2026 at 06:10:48 UTC.
Update
Authorities said the wildfires have burned nearly 80,000 hectares overall.
Pedro Sanchez said he hoped more residents, mainly in Avila, could begin returning home in the coming hours.
Sanchez said firefighting efforts were progressing favourably but the next 12 hours would be decisive.
Source note: AFP news report published on 29 July 2026 at 11:30:33 UTC.
Update
Spain's prime minister said the next 12 hours would be decisive for ending the Madrid-region fire.
Source note: AFP news report published on 29 July 2026 at 09:35:19 UTC.
Update
The source identifies campsite co-owner Maria Angeles Canete's husband as Manuel Pascual, 58.
Canete said she and Pascual fled by boat onto the Burguillo reservoir as the fire approached.
The source describes some residents returning to villages in eastern Castilla y Leon after evacuations.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 20:40:16 UTC.
Update
The Pantano del Burguillo camping ground west of Madrid was destroyed by the wildfire.
More than 30 people were evacuated from that campsite on Friday, including worker Magaly Vargas.
The campsite’s co-owner Maria Angeles Canete said she and her husband also owned another nearby camping ground and that both were destroyed.
A larger campsite in El Escorial reopened on Monday after 5,000 guests had been evacuated from it.
Residents in and around Cebreros returned after evacuations to find smoke, ash, smouldering vegetation and destroyed smallholdings.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 19:21:50 UTC.
Update
Spain's interior ministry suspended agricultural harvesting using machinery in the Madrid region and two neighbouring provinces because of fire risk.
Livestock farmers said wildfires had destroyed feed, machinery, pasture, barns, fences and animals west of Madrid.
Officials did not yet know the overall number of cattle and other farm animals killed in the wildfires.
The source said Spain's government declared a national emergency last week for the first time over wildfires.
The source gave about 75,000 hectares burned across the Madrid region and neighbouring Avila province.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 16:57:53 UTC.
Update
Authorities said Monday and Tuesday were crucial days to contain fires before conditions worsened.
AEMET officially declared a heatwave starting Wednesday and lasting until at least Sunday.
AEMET forecast temperatures of 42C in the northeast and 39C in central Spain.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged people across Spain to exercise extreme caution.
The Madrid regional government said conditions had improved slightly overnight but the fire west of the capital was still active.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 16:50:35 UTC.
Update
About 220,000 people have been forced to flee in France, in addition to about 60,000 in Spain.
The European Union announced more water-bombing planes were being sent to France, in addition to those already deployed to Spain.
EU commissioner Hadja Lahbib said the EU fleet was increasingly stretched because of possible needs elsewhere.
France's main fire has burned 42,000 hectares west of Bordeaux since last Wednesday.
Spain's weather agency forecast a new heatwave from Wednesday until the end of the week, with temperatures up to 42C in the northeast and 39C in the centre.
MeteoFrance forecast temperatures of up to 40C from Tuesday with dry wind.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 16:43:57 UTC.
Update
Spain's AEMET weather agency officially declared that the fourth heatwave of the summer would begin on Tuesday and last until at least Sunday.
AEMET forecast temperatures of 42C in the northeast and 39C in the centre.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Spain faced difficult and complex hours ahead.
The source adds detailed accounts of destruction near Chapineria, Navaluenga, Cebreros and Las Rozas de Madrid.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 14:00:13 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The duration and final extent of the remaining evacuations are not yet clear.
Source
AFP news report published on .