Spain faces another critical day as thousands of troops continue battling widespread forest fires

Spain heads into this 20 August 2025 as another day marked by the forest fire emergency in the north of the country. Although improved weather conditions have reduced the number of people evacuated from their homes in Castilla y León, several areas are still at maximum risk: the Montaña Palentina, several areas of León and Larouco in Orense. And the Jarilla wildfire in Extremadura is still active after more than a week burning thousands of hectares.

This has prompted Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez to declare 'disaster' zones in the areas affected by the fires during his visit to the Jarilla (Cáceres) command post on Tuesday. The national military deployment now totals nearly 2,000 troops, with international support from France, Italy and the Netherlands, as well as reinforcements sent from neighbouring regions.

The most worrying news of the day was the evacuation of Cardaño de Arriba (Palencia) for the second time in three days. The fire that originated in Barniedo de la Reina (León) has crossed the valley of Mazobre and threatens the area of Alto Carrión, within the municipality of Velilla del Río Carrión. The regional government of Castilla y León has decreed the potential severity index (PGI) 2, which implies a risk for the population and non-forest assets.

The region is suffering from a total of seven active fires at level 2 (Boca de Huérgano, Cardaño de Arriba, Yeres, Llamas de Cabrera, Anllares del Sil, Fasgar, Caín de Valdeón and Gestoso) and four at level 1 (La Uña, Castrocalbón, Paradiña and Canalejas).

The weather on Tuesday facilitated progress in extinguishing some fires in the province of León, allowing the return of the residents of 18 towns to their homes, among them Bouzas, San Cristóbal de Valdueza, Castrillo de Cabrera, Andiñuelas or Santa Colomba de Somoza.

At the same time, public concern about the magnitude of the wave of fires has led to a public call in Valladolid, where a rally under the slogan 'Against the fire of inaction: Prevention and resources now!' will take place at 8pm on Wednesday in the Plaza de Fuente Dorada. The organisers are demanding more resources for firefighting and prevention, in addition to calling for the resignation of regional president Alfonso Fernández Mañueco and regional minister for the environment Juan Carlos Suárez-Quiñones, who have been criticised for the way they've managed this crisis.

Meanwhile, the mega-fire in Jarilla (Extremadura) is still out of control, after more than a week of burning. A total of 15,600 hectares have been destroyed so far in the north of Cáceres.

The fire, with two main fronts, is advancing towards the north, where it has already entered Salamanca, and towards the north-east in the direction of Jerte and Tornavacas.

Residents of Jerte, Navaconcejo, Tornavacas and Cabezuela del Valle, as well as several peri-urban areas of Hervás, remain evacuated. On the other hand, the almost 200 inhabitants of Rebollar have been able to return to their homes after four days in the La Bombonera sports centre in Plasencia, where they were relocated last Saturday.

The situation in Galicia remains critical, especially in the province of Orense, where the fire has already devastated more than 67,500 hectares, with up to seven still active outbreaks, placing the entire province on level 2 alert.

The most devastating fire - in Larouco - has already been recorded as the largest in the region's history, with around 20,000 hectares burned. Its advance towards areas of high environmental value, such as the Pico de Trevinca or the thousand-year-old forest of Teixadal de Casaio, represents a threat of enormous magnitude.