This Wednesday the forest fire in the Madrid municipality of Santa María de la Alameda remains active and out of control, having started around four in the afternoon on Tuesday under the Cofio river bridge. The wind and the terrain’s orography made firefighting efforts difficult last night, which were, however, aided by the rain that fell at dawn.
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“Firefighting efforts have been complicated by strong wind gusts of up to about 50 km per hour, but it is starting to rain, which helps extinguish the fire,” explains firefighter officer Almudena Viñas in a video released by 112 Comunidad de Madrid around 6:20. “Even so, we have to wait until the early morning hours, with the incorporation of aerial resources, which can help stabilize the most difficult-to-access areas, as it is very rugged terrain and can be dangerous for the crews working,” adds Viñas.
The #BomberosCM officer explains how the work of the firefighting services has developed in the #IFSantaMaríadelaAlameda.
The wind and the terrain’s orography have made the efforts difficult. Although the rain that fell at dawn has helped extinguish the fire. pic.twitter.com/jqE3pEFnjW
— 112 Comunidad de Madrid (@112cmadrid) September 9, 2026
In the latest report, at 00:00, 112 informed that the work was “progressing positively,” although they remained very attentive to the wind’s behavior. “At this moment, 15 ground crews and four command vehicles of firefighters, forest firefighters, and forest agents are operating on the ground,” added the spokesperson. The Summa 112 in preventive mode, Civil Guard, and Civil Protection of Colmenarejo have also intervened. For now, the M-505 between La Paradilla and the Cofio River Bridge remains closed.
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Last night the Civil Guard accompanied “the evacuated people from the Umbría Gallego urbanization [with 14 inhabitants] so they could feed the grazing animals and collect the pets from their homes.” The residents of the small population center of La Paradilla, with 31 inhabitants, and the La Estación urbanization, with 871 residents, who were asked in the afternoon not to leave their homes due to “possible smoke impact,” are no longer confined.
The fire started at the Cofio bridge, currently under construction, which will last until October with a budget of 5.2 million euros. Although the causes of the incident have not been officially reported, among firefighters the theory circulates that some type of work was being done on this infrastructure and “a spark” ignited. The Special High-Altitude Rescue Group of this body, according to 112, participated on Tuesday in the rescue of three workers who were working on the bridge: “They were on a platform at great height and were evacuated without needing medical assistance.”
