“It’s very close” for the large fires of Madrid and Ávila to meet

The Government delegate in Castilla y León, Nicanor Sen, has expressed his concern about the possibility that the large fires that remain active in the province of Ávila and in the Community of Madrid could merge, something for which he has said that “there is very little left”.

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Sen has called for the responsibility of the population in a complicated situation, that which is being experienced due to the Burgohondo fire, with almost 9,000 hectares burned and more than 1,500 evacuated, to which another 100 people will be added in the vicinity of the town of Cebreros.

In this vein, he warned that the coming hours are expected to be “difficult and complicated”, taking into account the adverse weather conditions which, in addition to the heat, result in wind gusts that can exceed 50 kilometers per hour.

Likewise, the Government delegate pointed out that, in addition to focusing the operational efforts on preventing the flames from spreading to the Tiétar Valley, south of the province, the work will try to prevent the Ávila fire, which has a perimeter of 71 kilometers, from joining with the Madrid fire.

“There is very little left for it to join with the Madrid fire,” he noted, which he considers “very bad news” if it is confirmed, although he specified that there are “many resources” from the Government, from different autonomous communities and “surely” some from the European Union could be counted on.

On the other hand, more than 68,000 people remain evacuated or confined due to the fire affecting the southwest of the Community of Madrid, a figure that could increase in the coming hours if the fire continues to advance.

The fire, originated in the outbreaks of Villa del Prado and San Martín de Valdeiglesias, has passed Navas del Rey and is advancing north driven by strong wind gusts.

The Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Interior of the Community of Madrid, Carlos Novillo, confirmed this Friday that the three fires affecting the region have merged, which led to the evacuation of Fresnedillas de la Oliva and Robledo de Chavera being ordered in the afternoon, a few hours after the evacuation of Navas del Rey, Colmenar del Arroyo and Chapinería was ordered due to the advance of the flames. In total, the fires in Madrid and Ávila add up to more than 27,000 evacuated.

Early in the afternoon, the Ministry of Interior sent a Civil Protection alert through the EsAlert system to mobile phones, ordering the evacuation of the Madrid municipalities of Robledo de Chavela, with about 5,000 registered inhabitants, and Fresnedillas de la Oliva, with about 2,000.

The management of the operation deployed to extinguish the fires affecting the southwest of the Community of Madrid ordered the evacuation of two other municipalities, Navalagamella, with about 3,200 inhabitants – confined until now – and Zarzalejo, with about 2,000, around 7:00 p.m., reported the Government delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín.

The delegate warned that the fire is now heading towards the El Escorial area and announced that the UME will establish defense lines to protect this municipality; El Escorial first and then San Lorenzo. Late in the afternoon, the evacuation of a campsite in El Escorial was decreed, a measure that affected about 5,000 people. 

The large Madrid fire has a head advancing towards these three municipalities, which is why they have been evacuated. This was stated from the Command Post, located in the municipality of Cenicientos, after the meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (Cecopi), where he pointed out that “the head of these fires has merged and is heading towards Chapinería, which has forced us to carry out the evacuation.”

The minister, a professional firefighter, explained that in this large fire, the one in Villa del Prado and the one that started in the Toledo municipality of Almorox have converged, and on Friday, the one that started in San Martín de Valdeiglesias joined them, giving rise to a “single large fire.”

In addition, Novillo warned of the advance of the other fire, located in Burgohondo (Ávila), which has not yet crossed the border between Castilla y León and the Community of Madrid. However, the population was put on alert about the danger that both fronts could come into contact. “This fire (in Ávila) is not expected to reach (the Community of Madrid) in the coming hours, but with the wind module we have, we are already working as if this situation could occur,” asserted the minister.

In this regard, he warned that “we have 24 very complex hours, with wind gusts above 50 or 60 kilometers per hour sustained until night.” Therefore, he stressed that the advance of the fire, which yesterday was five or six kilometers per hour, “can gain that potential.”

Novillo mentioned that, for the moment, around 6,000 hectares have been burned, but “we expect that affected area to increase.” Therefore, he highlighted that “our priority, within the operation directed by the UME, is to provide all the resources of the Community of Madrid.”

The minister assured that the priority of the operation, directed by the Military Emergency Unit (UME), is “to save lives” and stressed that the Community of Madrid maintains “the largest deployment in its history,” although it must also reserve resources to respond to the possibility of new fires occurring on a day of extreme risk.

“This fire is currently beyond extinction capacity. We can try to limit the flanks, but we will not be able to stop that head until conditions change,” said Novillo, who expressed confidence that the drop in temperatures, the increase in humidity, and the wind change expected for the night and, especially, for this Saturday, will allow the fire’s evolution to improve.

“We need to have forest firefighters and aerial means, on standby on a high-risk day because we cannot afford a second fire and above all the priority is to save lives,” asserted the Madrid minister, who now aims to “try to limit the flanks” while waiting for a change in environmental conditions that allows attacking the head of the fire.

The number of evacuees remains at more than 20,000 people in municipalities such as Aldea del Fresno, Villa del Prado, Pelayos de la Presa and San Martín de Valdeiglesias. The 112 Emergency service of the Community of Madrid has indicated the evacuation of the municipalities of Fresnedillas de la Oliva, Robledo de Chavela, Chapinería, Colmenar del Arroyo and Navas del Rey.

This was reported by the Chapinería City Council on its social networks, where it specified that the residents of the town must evacuate the municipality towards Villaviciosa de Odón. Buses will depart from the Town Hall square for residents and from the auditorium for those from other towns.

Private vehicle movements must be directed to Villaviciosa de Odón “following the instructions of emergency services and authorities.” The City Council has called for calm and extreme caution.

For its part, the Colmenar del Arroyo City Council has informed that residents must go to Madrid “by their own means” and, if they do not have transport, buses will be provided for evacuation. In Navas del Rey, the evacuation of the town towards Madrid has also been urged.

During the night, the municipalities of Pelayos de la Presa, Navas del Rey, Villa del Prado and San Martín de Valdeiglesias were confined, and the urban area of Aldea del Fresno and some urbanizations in the region were evacuated.

The fires have caused the closure of the M-507 road, between kilometers 28 and 36. In addition, traffic has been restricted on the M-501, between kilometers 42 and 59.

According to the Community of Madrid, the fires affecting the region “are still not perimetered or controlled despite the effectiveness of night work.”

The Villa del Prado fire affects Aldea del Fresno; the San Martín de Valdeiglesias fire, caused by a car burning on the M-501 road, threatens Pelayos de la Presa, and the one started in Almorox (Toledo) reactivated at midday.

The regional government has warned that weather conditions, especially wind, will complicate extinction efforts.

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According to data from the Community of Madrid, some 10,000 people have been evacuated.

More than 270 professionals, including firefighters, forest agents, and members of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), have worked on the ground all night in the fires.

The regional government has also reported that Summa112 health services have been attending to their preventive devices all night, especially chronic patients.

The Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, declared this past Thursday a national interest emergency in the Community of Madrid and Ávila “as a consequence of the evolution of the forest fires” located in the municipalities of Villa del Prado and San Martín de Valdeiglesias (Community of Madrid) and Burgohondo (Ávila).

The decision has been made due to the “concurrence of these fires” and “especially adverse” weather conditions, and the “need” to mobilize “a significant volume of resources” from different public administrations. “Factors that have increased the complexity of extinction and civil protection efforts,” the Interior Ministry explained in a statement.

The Ministry has valued the “existence of preventive evacuations,” the threat of fire to urban areas, and the potential “supraterritorial impact of the emergency,” it added.

Meanwhile, Castilla y León wakes up with 9 active fires, four of them serious, among which the Burgohondo (Ávila) fire 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 special 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 at night a nursing home was evacuated.

In total, there are more than 1,500 evacuees, 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 UME support.

Also at IGR 2 is a fire in Murias de Ponjos (León), which increased in severity this morning and forced the evacuation of three towns, Rosales, Folloso and Andarroso, with about 40 residents who have been rehoused in the Riello schools, 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 weather 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 upon reaching 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 forecast of around 200 evacuated residents from Turienzo Castañero and San Pedro Castañero returning to their homes.

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 senior center in Retortillo.

The Junta de Castilla y León maintains surveillance in Soria, although now without risk, 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 (Zamora) fire, which forced the population to be confined on Wednesday night, continues to evolve well and is stabilized. 

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has warned of the “dramatic situation” being experienced as a result of the fires “not only in different Spanish provinces, but also in regions of neighboring countries.”

In a message on X, the head of the Executive asked for “caution.” “Let’s follow the instructions and avoid risks,” Sánchez requested, assuring that the Government has deployed all its personnel. “It will be by your side in the emergency and in the recovery,” he continued in his message, in which he thanked the BRIF, UME, State Security Forces and Corps, and Civil Protection for their work. “To all emergency services that fight day and night to stop the advance of the flames and extinguish the fire,” he added.

Given the fires that “are devastating thousands of hectares and affecting various populations,” Pedro Sánchez has also expressed his solidarity with “all the people who are seeing how the fire burns their mountains and threatens their homes.”

The night from Thursday to Friday has given a respite to the forest fire situation throughout Castilla-La Mancha, as the fire in Selas (Guadalajara) has been controlled and those in Mazarambroz and La Pueblanueva, both in the province of Toledo, have been extinguished.

The largest one, the Selas fire, which is estimated to have consumed some 2,800 hectares of forest-wooded mass and forced the evacuation of six municipalities, was controlled at 10:32 p.m. this Thursday.

In any case, four aerial means, with four people; four ground extinction means, with 16 people; and nine more internal staff continue to work on site.

In the case of the Mazarambroz fire, which originated this past Wednesday, it was extinguished at 0:30 a.m. this Friday, after having been controlled at 7:43 p.m. this Thursday.

Finally, the La Pueblanueva fire, which started at 3:51 a.m. this Thursday and was controlled at 3:34 p.m. on the same day, was finally extinguished at 11:31 p.m. on Thursday.