The three fires currently developing in the Community of Madrid remain uncontained and uncontrolled despite the fact that the nocturnal work carried out by fire brigade personnel “has been effective,” as reported this Friday by the Emergencias 112 Comunidad de Madrid service. In fact, they explained that meteorological conditions, fundamentally the wind, will complicate extinction efforts throughout the day. The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, declared a national interest emergency tonight in the territory of the Community of Madrid and in the province of Ávila as a consequence of the evolution of the forest fires declared in the municipalities of Villa del Prado and San Martín de Valdeiglesias (in the Community of Madrid) and Burgohondo (Castilla y León). More than 10,000 people have been evacuated. In addition, in the province of Ávila, about 1,500 people have been evacuated, and the confinement of the municipalities of Navaluenga, Burgohondo, and El Tiemblo has been ordered.
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Castilla y León wakes up with 9 active fires and more than 1,500 evacuated between Ávila and León
Castilla y León wakes up with 9 active fires, four of them serious, among which the one in Burgohondo (Ávila) is particularly concerning, with three towns confined and more than 1,500 people evacuated between this municipality, an urbanization in El Tiemblo, and a rural tourism center, which has led to the declaration of a national emergency by the central government, along with Madrid.
The Ávila fire, which was declared this Wednesday, stands out for its particular virulence, as on Thursday afternoon it advanced at a speed of 30 kilometers in 40 minutes, and the flames entered the Valle de Iruelas Natural Reserve, home to one of the main colonies of black vultures, which has been devastated.
The smoke forced the confinement of the municipalities of Burgohondo, Navaluenga, and El Tiemblo, but also the evacuation of the La Atalaya urbanization in the latter town and a rural tourism center in Valle de Iruelas, along with two rural houses and a campsite, and a nursing home was evacuated at night.
In total, more than 1,500 people have been evacuated, in addition to the hundred residents who already left their homes in a neighborhood of Burgohondo on Wednesday, due to a fire that is at Potential Severity Index (IGP) 2, and in which more than fifty resources are working, with support from the UME.
Also at IGR 2 is a fire in Murias de Ponjos (León), which increased in severity this morning and has forced the evacuation of three towns, Rosales, Folloso, and Andarroso, with about 40 residents who have been rehoused in the schools of Riello, despite the favorable evolution on Thursday afternoon.
The behavior of the forest fire, which was declared on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m., changed during the night due to meteorological conditions, especially the intensity of the wind, which caused a faster spread than expected.
Forecasts indicate that the flames will continue to advance towards the towns of Rosales and Folloso, although emergency officials are confident that the fire may lose intensity when it reaches a stream located near both villages.
The other two dangerous fires, although at IGR 1 level, are those in Brieva (Segovia) and Castropodame (León), both with good evolution. In addition, the León fire dropped to level 2 this Thursday, with the expected return home of the approximately 200 evacuated residents of Turienzo Castañero and San Pedro Castañero.
The good evolution of the La Mierla fire in Guadalajara also gave Soria a respite this Thursday, where the flames have not entered the province, but the smoke from the fire did force evacuations, which were completely lifted yesterday, with the return of residents to a nursing home in Retortillo.
The Junta de Castilla y León maintains vigilance in Soria, although without risk now, and the operation is working on other fires declared in León: La Baña, La Utrera, and Quintela, the latter started last night; and one more in Zamora, in Santa Colomba de las Monjas.
In addition, the Rábano de Aliste fire (Zamora), which forced the confinement of the population on Wednesday night, continues to evolve well and is stabilized. (Efe)
Selas fire (Guadalajara) controlled and Mazarambroz and La Pueblanueva fires in Toledo extinguished
Last night brought a respite to the forest fire situation throughout Castilla-La Mancha, as between late Thursday and early Friday, the fire in Selas (Guadalajara) was brought under control, and those in Mazarambroz and La Pueblanueva, both in the province of Toledo, were extinguished.
The largest fire, that of Selas, which is estimated to have consumed some 2,800 hectares of forest-wooded mass and forced the evacuation of six municipalities, was brought under control at 10:32 p.m. on Thursday.
In any case, four aerial resources with four people, four ground extinction resources with 16 people, and nine more internal personnel continue to work at the site.
In the case of Mazarambroz, which originated last Wednesday, it was extinguished at 0:30 a.m. this Friday, after having been brought under control at 7:43 p.m. on Thursday.
Finally, the La Pueblanueva fire, which started at 3:51 a.m. on Thursday and was brought under control at 3:34 p.m. on the same day, was finally extinguished at 11:31 p.m. on Thursday. (EP)
A firefighter in Burgohondo (Ávila): “Just from the smoke we saw, we could sense the disaster in the Valle de Iruelas”
“Just from the smoke we saw, we could sense the disaster in the Valle de Hiruelas,” says a firefighter deployed to extinguish the fire in the province of Ávila.
Read more Powerlessness against the fire in Hell’s Valley: “El Bierzo again”
“We work at high altitude. The wind helped, making it difficult for the front to descend,” he explains. “We hope to prevent it from reaching the Piedralaves pine forest, which would be an ongoing accumulation of hectares and environmental disaster.”
Murias de Ponjos fire (León) forces evacuation of residents from three towns
The towns of Rosales, Folloso, and Andarraso, with about 40 people, have been evacuated due to the Murias de Ponjos fire (León) after the Potential Severity Index was raised to 2 yesterday at 10:35 p.m. due to a serious risk to populations and non-forest assets.
The decision was made by the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (Cecopi) after a meeting held in view of the advance of the flames, offering evacuated residents the possibility of being housed in the schools of Riello.
The delegate of the Junta de Castilla y León in the province, Eduardo Diego, explained that the fire has advanced rapidly due to strong winds, “although in the last hours of yesterday the fire could be compacted,” with the forecast that the flames would continue to advance to the towns of Rosales and Folloso and that “the fire would die in a stream that stands in the way of these villages.”
Ground resources and machinery have been engaged in extinction efforts during the night hours to stop the advance of the flames, now that the head of the fire is already compact.
According to the regional administration, the fire started yesterday at 7:45 p.m. due to accidental causes that have not been revealed. Currently, a technician, three environmental agents, a ground crew, three fire engines, and four bulldozers are working on the extinction operation. (Efe)
forest fires
The three fires devastating Madrid continue to burn out of control
The first day dawns with Madrid in a national emergency due to the forest fires ravaging the region, and the night, although productive in fighting the flames, has not substantially improved the situation. The regional government, which is no longer in charge of the operation after asking La Moncloa last night to take control and the Executive having decreed it, reports that the nocturnal work has been “effective,” but it has not been possible to contain or control the three fires active simultaneously since Thursday, two in Villa del Prado and one in San Martín de Valdeiglesias.
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Sánchez to chair the state emergency plan coordination committee this Friday after fires complicate
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, will chair this Friday, around 9:30 a.m., the meeting of the State Coordination and Management Committee of the State Emergency Plan (CECOD), which will be held at the Moncloa Complex, following the complication of the fires affecting various parts of the country, especially in the Community of Madrid and the province of Ávila.
The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, will also attend the meeting remotely and will address the media after the meeting from the Advanced Command Post in Cenicientos (Madrid). (EP)
Forest Fires
9 of the 34 municipalities evacuated due to the La Mierla fire rehoused while the harvester that caused it is investigated
Several towns affected by the La Mierla fire are beginning to return to the normality that the fire stole from them. A week after the start of Spain’s second largest fire, and the largest in the history of Castilla-La Mancha, many inhabitants of the Sierra Norte de Guadalajara region breathe a little easier after a night in which the flames did not advance, keeping the affected area at 32,000 hectares. This has allowed residents of four more towns to return to their homes this Thursday, joining the five municipalities rehoused on Wednesday. But 25 are still missing.
You can read the full information here
Fires affecting the Community of Madrid remain uncontained and wind will complicate extinction
The three fires currently developing in the Community of Madrid remain uncontained and uncontrolled despite the fact that the nocturnal work carried out by fire brigade personnel “has been effective,” as reported at 7:00 a.m. by the Emergencias 112 Comunidad de Madrid service. In fact, they explained that meteorological conditions, fundamentally the wind, will complicate extinction efforts this Friday.
The number of evacuees remains at more than 10,000 people from the municipalities of Villa del Prado, San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Pelayos de la Presa, and Aldea del Fresno. SUMMA112 has attended to affected people (especially chronic patients) in its preventive devices.
The aforementioned fires are the one in Villa del Prado affecting Aldea del Fresno, the one in San Martín de Valdeiglesias, resulting from a car burning on the M-501 road, which is also affecting Pelayos de la Presa, and the one that started yesterday in Almorox (Toledo). In addition, yesterday the fire declared in Burgohondo (Ávila) was added, which is expected to impact the Community of Madrid given the meteorological conditions.
Last night, more than 270 professionals were working in the area, with 40 ground resources: 21 vehicles with 90 personnel in Villa del Prado and a UME section with another 40; 17 vehicles with 65 personnel in San Martín de Valdeiglesias and 2 sections of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) with 40 units each in San Martín de Valdeiglesias. (EP)
fires
Goat-cows, firebreak olive groves or grazing fires: this is the anti-flame landscape
Since last year, 28 Cachena cows, known as goat-cows for their agility in moving through the mountains and their diet, graze in the 678 hectares of the communal forest of Vincios, in Gondomar (Pontevedra). They are not alone: they are accompanied by goats and sheep, which feed among pines and eucalyptus. They arrived after the 2017 fire, which devastated 82% of the forest and led the neighborhood community to rethink its management. “There is no other economic or environmental solution to prevent fires than to use livestock,” summarizes José Taboada, coordinator of the communal forest.
You can read the full information here
Good morning. We begin the live coverage of the latest news on fires in Spain, this Friday, July 24. The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, declared a national interest emergency tonight in the territory of the Community of Madrid and in the province of Ávila as a consequence of the evolution of the forest fires declared in the municipalities of Villa del Prado and San Martín de Valdeiglesias (in the Community of Madrid) and Burgohondo (Castilla y León). Hours earlier, the regional president of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, had asked on her X account for the government to declare the emergency, to deal with the simultaneous fires affecting the peninsula. Currently, three forest fires are affecting the Community of Madrid: the one originated in Almorox (Toledo), which has impacted the Madrid municipality of Villa del Prado; another independent focus also declared in this locality; and a third one started after a vehicle fire in San Martín de Valdeiglesias. In addition, in the province of Ávila, about 1,500 people have been evacuated, and the confinement of the municipalities of Navaluenga, Burgohondo, and El Tiemblo has been ordered.
