Hundreds evacuated as wildfire scorches 13,000 hectares in Spain

This handout photo released on July 19, 2026, by Spain's Military Emergencies Unit (UME) shows the military fighting a wildfire in La Mierla area, near Guadalajara, about 100 kilometers north of Madrid. Photo by Handout

Article content

Firefighters were battling a wildfire north of Madrid on Sunday that has burned around 13,000 hectares of land and forced some 700 residents to evacuate, authorities said.

Article content

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a post on X that his government was closely monitoring the wildfire and thanked firefighters “working tirelessly” to protect lives and bring the blaze under control.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Around 300 firefighters, supported by 26 water-dropping aircraft, were working to contain the blaze, which broke out on Thursday amid scorching temperatures in Guadalajara province, the regional forest fire response service said on X.

Article content

Article content

The fire has been described as “difficult” by the head of the regional government, Emiliano García-Page.

Article content

It broke out in a forest-covered mountainous area that includes the Sierra Norte Natural Park, home to endangered species including eagles, wolves and butterflies.

Article content

The wildfire comes after another blaze broke out on Wednesday near Zaragoza, in the northeastern region of Aragon, forcing around 1,000 people to evacuate their homes.

Article content

Firefighters, aided by improved weather conditions, had managed to curtail that fire’s spread, Aragon’s deputy regional president María del Mar Vaquero told Spanish public television.

Article content

“Emergency services will determine when the residents of the five evacuated villages can return home,” she said.

Article content

The fire has burned around 14,400 hectares, Vaquero said, revising down an earlier estimate of about 16,000 hectares.

Article content

Article content

No casualties have been reported.

Article content

Article content

Earlier this month, Spain suffered one of its deadliest wildfires in recent history when a blaze in the southern province of Almeria killed 13 people and destroyed around 7,000 hectares.

Article content

Spain is on the front line of climate change and has experienced increasingly long and frequent heatwaves in recent years, with temperatures regularly exceeding 40 C, creating conditions conducive to devastating wildfires.

Article content

Scientists say human-driven climate change is increasing the length, intensity and frequency of heatwaves, drying out vegetation and contributing to a greater risk of wildfires.

Article content

Article content