Spanish PM says ‘difficult hours’ ahead in battle to contain wildfires
Sam Jones
Speaking during a visit to the command post in Ávila on Sunday morning, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said that while “difficult hours” lay ahead, there had been some good news on containing the fire.
“We’re facing some difficult hours, although it’s true that the latest update has shown that last night was very positive in terms of the fire’s evolution and efforts to control it,” he said. “We’ll see what happens today, but I’d once again like to urge people to take huge care and to stay up to date.”
Sánchez pointed out that Spain and neighbouring Portugal were experiencing the varied consequences of the climate emergency, from fires and heavy snowfalls to storms. “The entire Iberian peninsula is suffering the effects of the climate emergency in a very specific way,” he added.
The prime minister also spoke of the need for people to remain properly informed about the fires and their causes, and criticised those who are using social media to pump out hoaxes and fake news.
Over recent days, false stories have circulated on social media, claiming the fires have been intentionally started in order to clear the ground for new solar panel installations or to explore new areas for mining.
“Sadly, we’re seeing a lot of fake news during this emergency,” said Sánchez. “And all that does is create more worries and more anxiety for people.”
Key events
In this insightful dispatch from Las Rozas, the Guardian’s Madrid correspondent, Sam Jones, spoke to wildfire evacuees who witnessed devastating scenes as fires burnt across large areas of central Spain:
At least 240 homes in Gironde totally destroyed by wildfire in south-west France
Angelique Chrisafis
At least 240 homes in the French department of Gironde have been totally destroyed by the wildfire which is still raging in south-west France. Many more homes in Gironde have been damaged, a gendarme spokesperson told BFMTV.
The Gironde wildfire has spread to within 15km of the edge of Bordeaux’s outer suburban area.
Thomas Cazenave, the mayor of Bordeaux, said the fire was currently between 25km – 30km from Bordeaux itself.
The western city known for its wine industry is not currently facing any plans to evacuate, the mayor said. “There is no evacuation of Bordeaux on the cards,” he told reporters.
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in wooded areas of Gironde in recent days as the wildfire continues to spread.
Cazeneuve said he had asked the government for an economic crisis plan for the area because many businesses and workers had been evacuated from areas west of Bordeaux and the tourism industry had been heavily impacted.
He said it was impossible to say when people who had been evacuated as a precaution could return to their homes. He said: “We don’t know how long this crisis will last – whether several days or several weeks.”
Firefighters in France and Spain have now been battling non-stop for more than three days, leaving them exhausted and overstretched.
Despite the news this morning that major areas affected by the Madrid wildfire have now been contained, the Spanish state meteorological office, Aemet, warned in its latest update that the risk of wildfires remains high in eastern and southern parts of Spain.
“The risk of wildfires is lessening this Sunday across much of the Iberian peninsula, but remains at very high or extreme levels in eastern and southern parts of Spain. Next week will bring warmer weather, so the risk will increase over the coming days,” it said.
In its latest update, the Madrid region’s emergency services said that 2,468 people are being supported in 15 reception centres set up across the region for those who have been evacuated from their homes due to the wildfire risk.
These centres, largely located in sport centres, offer meals, personal hygiene items and beds, which are provided by local councils or by the country’s Military Emergency Unit.
Some centres provide psychological support through social workers and psychologists, and healthcare to elderly and vulnerable people who require it.
Sky News is reporting that residents in Le Barp, south-western France, have been ordered to evacuate immediately due to a forest fire “in progress”.
Sky News correspondent Sadiya Chowdhury has seen an emergency alert, sent out by the Gironde prefecture, which reads:
“Urgent – Forest fire in progress. 1. Residents of Le Barp evacuate immediately via the south. 2. A63 motorway closed towards Bordeaux from Liposthey. 3. Evacuate via the A63 towards Bayonne.”
Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia are expected to visit the La Chopera sports centre in Villamanta, a municipality in Madrid, at around midday to meet those displaced by the wildfire.
Spanish PM says ‘difficult hours’ ahead in battle to contain wildfires
Sam Jones
Speaking during a visit to the command post in Ávila on Sunday morning, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said that while “difficult hours” lay ahead, there had been some good news on containing the fire.
“We’re facing some difficult hours, although it’s true that the latest update has shown that last night was very positive in terms of the fire’s evolution and efforts to control it,” he said. “We’ll see what happens today, but I’d once again like to urge people to take huge care and to stay up to date.”
Sánchez pointed out that Spain and neighbouring Portugal were experiencing the varied consequences of the climate emergency, from fires and heavy snowfalls to storms. “The entire Iberian peninsula is suffering the effects of the climate emergency in a very specific way,” he added.
The prime minister also spoke of the need for people to remain properly informed about the fires and their causes, and criticised those who are using social media to pump out hoaxes and fake news.
Over recent days, false stories have circulated on social media, claiming the fires have been intentionally started in order to clear the ground for new solar panel installations or to explore new areas for mining.
“Sadly, we’re seeing a lot of fake news during this emergency,” said Sánchez. “And all that does is create more worries and more anxiety for people.”
Sam Jones
Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME) is fighting three fires across the country, with 1,200 soldiers, backed by 400 vehicles, tackling blazes in Madrid, Ávila and Valencia.
The unit was also deployed in the wake of the disastrous floods in Valencia, in which more than 230 people lost their lives.
Spain’s government declared a national emergency on Thursday evening after wildfires threatened areas near the capital and in the neighbouring province of Ávila.
A national emergency, which allows central government to assume overall control of powers and responsibilities that are usually the domain of Spain’s self-governing regions, has only been declared once before, during the countrywide blackout of April 2025.
Major areas of the Madrid fire have been contained, senior military officer says
Sam Jones
A glimmer of good news at last: major areas of the Madrid fire have now been “contained and cooled down”, according to a senior officer in Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME).
Speaking to the state broadcaster, RTVE, this morning, Lt Col Alfonso Arribas said important strides had been made in containing the blaze.
“Significant progress has been made in the work carried out around the entire perimeter,” he said.
Right now, we can say that the entire front is certainly contained. There are only a few active fire fronts that are being worked on, and today we hope that conditions will allow us to work in those areas that are still out of control. But it’s not the entire perimeter at all.
Arribas described the perimeter as wide and varied.
“There are areas that are contained and cooled down, others that are active, and others that are uneven,” he said. Arribas also said that no further evacuations were planned before midday.
According to the latest update from Spain’s environment ministry, 152,678 hectares of forest land have burned since the beginning of the year, compared with 24,133 in the same period of 2025. It also said 32 major forest fires have been recorded so far in 2026, compared with seven recorded in the same period of 2025.
The wildfire situation in France remains ‘very unfavourable’, interior minister says
France’s interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, has said the wildfire situation in certain areas of the country was “very unfavourable” after another “tough night” battling the blazes.
In a post on X, Nuñez wrote that the fire in the Gironde region in the south-west of France became “extremely virulent and unpredictable” at the start of the night, “generating its own wind” and “spreading erratically toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area”.
He said although the fire “calmed down somewhat” it wreaked extensive damage, with an area of 42,000 hectares burned and an additional five municipalities having to be evacuated overnight.
A total of 2,500 firefighters, including a Swiss firefighting team, 1,500 military personnel and about 1,200 police have been deployed to battle the blazes in Gironde, he said. About 55,000 people from the Gironde region have been evacuated for their safety.
In the south-west Landes region, where 3,600 hectares have already been scorched, Nuñez said “a flare-up at the front was tackled yesterday using aerial resources”, noting that “the edges remain highly active”. He said nearly 550 firefighters are mobilised and 36,000 people have been evacuated.
Similarly, in the Var region in south-east France, he said nearly 3,000 people have been evacuated as a “preventive measure” while 1,100 firefighters remain mobilised.
“Meanwhile, other ongoing fires are currently being fought across the national territory, such as in Corsica and the Hautes-Alpes,” Nuñez added.
