Spain burns for ninth consecutive day with more than 40 active forest fires, four dead and thousands evacuated from their homes

Spain has entered its ninth consecutive day of a wave of forest fires this Monday, 18 August. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes, four people have died and 160,000 hectares had been burned at the last official count.

The magnitude of the human disaster is also reflected in the number of injured. Three of the six hospitalised in León and Zamora remain in critical condition, and another six are in serious condition, according to the Regional Government of Castile and León. A 56-year-old woman suffered burns to 48% of her body, a 36-year-old man suffered burns to 50%, and a 64-year-old man suffered burns to 35%. An 80-year-old patient is stable but in serious condition, and a 77-year-old woman is in serious condition but is progressing well. In total, three deaths and 16 injuries have been reported in connection with the firefighting efforts in Castile and León. The latest death, a 57-year-old firefighter from the Infocal operation deployed from Soria, died this Sunday in a traffic accident involving a fire engine in Espinoso de Compludo (León). Another 30-year-old firefighter was injured in the same incident.

Castilla y León remains the region most affected, with more than 20 active outbreaks in Zamora, León, Salamanca and Ávila. The fire in Cipérez has already become the largest in the history of the province since records began. According to reports, there were nine level 2 fires in the province of León on Sunday, with special concern for those in Gestoso, Barniedo de la Reina and Llamas de Cabrera. In addition, ten towns near the Picos de Europa mountains have been evacuated due to the direct threat of the flames

In addition, there were 14 active fires in Galicia. The forest fire in Gestoso (Orense) declared on Saturday afternoon entered the León area of El Bierzo, expanding to risk level 2.

Early on Sunday, state railway operator Renfe informed that the train traffic between Zamora and Orense would remain suspended due to the fires affecting both provinces High-speed train traffic between Madrid and Galicia also remained suspended. The authorities announced the same measures for today - Monday, 18 August.

Another outbreak that most concerns the authorities is in Extremadura, with special attention to the Jarilla fire, which is still out of control, having devastated 11,000 hectares. It forced the confinement of the residents of Hervás and the evacuation of Gargantilla. Regional minister of the presidency Abel Bautista stated that the region does not have the capacity to extinguish up to 70% of the fire. "It is in the hands of the weather conditions. It is totally out of control," he said on Saturday night.

President of the regional government of Extremadura María Guardiola criticised Spain's PM Pedro Sánchez for excluding the regions from the Cecop meeting. Guardiola reported that the government had already responded to Extremadura's request for additional resources and had stated that "it does not have the capacity to send resources to tackle a fire like this one, with a perimeter of 100 kilometres".

The number of active fires in Castilla y León has risen to 30, of which 11 are at level 2 of severity and ten at level 1. The fires in León and Zamora are still uncontrolled. One of the outbreaks has already crossed into Cantabria through the municipality of Camaleño, according to the regional government.

The Teresa de Cofrentes and the Xàtiva fires in Valencia have been stabilised. The fire, which broke out around 5.40pm on Saturday was brought under control at 9.30pm, with only one local evacuation.

The regional government of Asturias had 14 forest fires on Saturday night: seven active, four controlled and three under surveillance. In Genestoso (Cangas del Narcea), firefighters from various stations, Spain's UME emergency military unit, forestry brigades, heavy machinery and the BRIF brigade from Tineo were working under the coordination of an advanced command post.

The emergency troops were joined by a hundred troops from the Spanish navy, following a UME request. They were focusing on surveillance and aid to the population in the affected areas.

Germany, Slovakia and the Netherlands have announced that they plan to send resources and personnel to help the firefighting services, as France and Italy had previously done.

The Ministry of the Interior has reported that from 1 June to 16 August (the fire risk season) 27 people have been arrested as arson suspects, while 97 others are under investigation.

This ninth day of fires also highlights the urgent need to strengthen prevention, coordination, and equipping of emergency services, especially in a summer that threatens to break all known records.