Spain is battling three major wildfires this Friday, with the most severe blaze in the Cinco Villas district of Zaragoza province having scorched 12,000 hectares — the largest fire in the country so far this year. The fire, which ignited on Wednesday, remains “fairly active” and advanced significantly overnight, according to local authorities. Its perimeter has now reached 60 kilometres, forcing the evacuation of six villages: Orés, Asín, Luesia, Malpica de Arba, Uncastillo in Zaragoza, and Petilla de Aragón in Navarra. More than 1,100 people have been affected.
The blaze is primarily affecting the Cerro de Cinco Villas, a pine forest area near the housing developments of Los Robles and San Lorenzo. The local council has opened the municipal sports centre as a shelter, and the Military Emergency Unit (UME) has deployed support units. The Civil Guard arrested a man on Thursday on suspicion of starting the fire after residents alerted authorities to a person fleeing the area under suspicious circumstances. The suspect was carrying a rucksack containing numerous flammable products and has previous records for similar offences in other Spanish provinces.
Political Response and Road Closures
Carlos Novillo, the councillor for the Environment, Agriculture and Interior of the Community of Madrid, announced that the regional government will act as a popular prosecution against the detainee, referring the case to the Community’s General Legal Service. “This measure is intended to defend Madrid’s natural heritage, which has been put at serious risk because of one person, a heartless individual who has caused a major fire, putting lives in danger,” Novillo said. The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, backed the decision, noting that the regional executive had approved regulations allowing it to appear in court as a popular prosecution in certain offences, including those harming natural heritage.
Roads A-1204, CV-813, A-1202, CV-841, and CV-628 remain closed, although electricity supply has been restored in all affected localities. On Thursday, 400 ground resources and 19 aircraft worked to extinguish the fire, and overnight firefighters focused on protecting homes in Uncastillo.
Guadalajara and Madrid Fires
In the northern sierra of Guadalajara, another fire declared on Thursday forced the evacuation of La Mierla, Muriel, and Umbralejo, and the confinement of Almiruete, Palancares, and the Beleña reservoir. The fire was detected by a lookout at 13:55 in La Mierla and spread rapidly, burning 900 hectares in just a few hours, according to Juan José Fernández, director of the Regional Operational Centre for Forest Fires in Castilla-La Mancha. The regional government has requested intervention by the Military Emergency Unit, which has deployed around 100 personnel.
The third active hotspot broke out on Thursday afternoon in Lozoyuela, in the northern sierra of Madrid. It is evolving favourably but was still not under control or fully contained on Friday, with 70 hectares burned. Since morning, 28 ground resources have been working alongside SUMMA112 emergency medical teams and ERICE Civil Protection units, awaiting aerial resources. On Thursday, 100 people were evacuated and more than 2,000 were confined to their homes in Buitrago de Lozoya and the outlying hamlets of Cinco Villas and Manjirón, in the municipality of Puentes Viejas. The Civil Guard also evacuated around 50 children from a summer camp in Gandullas. The Community of Madrid activated Operational Situation 2 of the INFOMA wildfire plan and sent an Es-Alert warning to the population. Roads M-126 and M-135 remain closed, and the A-1 was closed for an hour in its left-hand lane heading towards Burgos. The Hinojosas fire, which started on Wednesday in Ciudad Real, was extinguished after affecting around 800 hectares.
High temperatures, wind, and low humidity, combined with abundant vegetation from a rainy spring, explain the rapid spread of these fires. The abandonment of rural life, together with climate change, is creating conditions that make fires increasingly difficult to control. For context, a similar blaze in the Fontainebleau forest near Paris earlier this year destroyed 2,000 hectares, with recovery expected to take 30 years. Fontainebleau Forest Fire: Recovery Could Take 30 Years After Blaze Destroys 2,000 Hectares
