Evacuees describe damage from large wildfire north of Madrid

A large wildfire in Guadalajara province, about 100 kilometres north of Madrid, has forced local officials to evacuate 1,200 people from 34 villages. The fire has burned for seven days, with hundreds of firefighters and dozens of aircraft involved in the response. Smoke has partly blocked the sun, and the smell of fire has been detected dozens of kilometres away. Evacuees described the scale of the damage to villages and natural areas. Lorenza Benitez, 77, was among residents evacuated from Bustares on Saturday as flames approached. She said the natural surroundings outside the village had burned and described the experience as deeply painful. She and 74 others were given shelter in a gym in Humanes, farther south. Maria Isabel Benito, a 57-year-old cleaning worker, also fled her home. She said the mayor of Zarzuela de Jadraque gave her only moments to collect papers and needed medicines before leaving. She believed her house would still be standing, but said the Sierra Norte de Guadalajara natural park had been lost. Local Red Cross coordinator Felipe Argomaniz said evacuees in the gym had camp beds and three meals a day. He said companionship was especially important because people were distressed after leaving homes and villages under threat. After visiting the area on Wednesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Spain had faced 22 major fires this year, four times more than at the same point last year. He blamed climate change for the increase. Another evacuee, Pedro Llorente, 77, said he believed climate change was real and said recent fires were fiercer than those seen in the past. He and his wife fled Bustares with their two chihuahuas. Castilla-La Mancha regional president Emiliano Garcia-Page said the fire had already burned about 32,000 hectares, nearly a quarter of the land burned in Spanish fires so far this year. The source said strong winds and very dry conditions helped the fire move quickly. AFP journalists recorded winds of more than 50 kilometres an hour using the Windy app on Wednesday. Spain has also been in another severe heatwave since Tuesday, with temperatures in Guadalajara province forecast to reach 39 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.