A week after the state of emergency was declared, mobilizing national firefighting forces, officials reported that the fires in the Madrid and Avila areas have stopped spreading and there are almost no flames.
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“We have decided to support the proposal to move to the 2nd operational level and end the national state of emergency,” P. Sanchez told journalists after a meeting with regional officials regarding the fires.
The Madrid regional prefecture previously stated in a release that “nighttime weather conditions allowed (…) cooling of the area and strengthening of the perimeter, which is clearly stabilized, has not spread for several days, there are few smoldering spots and almost no flames left.”
It states that there are no longer any “active fronts,” adding that only about a thousand people remain evacuated.
However, officials warned that the ongoing heatwave poses a risk of fire resurgence in the Madrid region.
The fires in Madrid and Avila have collectively destroyed at least 77,000 hectares.
“The meteorological fire risk remains very high, and in some areas even extreme,” the Madrid regional authority indicated.
“Efforts will be focused on maintaining perimeter stability, monitoring new outbreaks, and cooling hotspots,” the statement added.
The most critical area in the Madrid region fires on Thursday morning was the area near the San Juan reservoir, located about 60 km from the city center, where two towns remain evacuated.
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New fire in the west
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, a new forest fire broke out near the Spanish border with Portugal, forcing the evacuation of more than 600 people, emergency services reported.
In the village of Fermoselle, a total of 11 zones were evacuated, and residents of two other areas were instructed to stay in safe places, the services reported.
Officials did not specify the burned area, but several roads were closed.
Spain’s military emergency unit (UME) was sent to fight the level 2 fire – this classification entails additional central government support.
In the same province of Zamora, two other level 2 fires were active – in the Val de la Loba and San Cipriano del Condado areas.
This territory is in the Castile and León region, which has already been ravaged by a massive fire.
This fire in the province of Avila, which is still ongoing, has burned about 50,000 hectares of land.
