The forest fire in Niebla (Huelva) declared this past August 6 has already been confirmed as the most severe in the history of Andalusia in terms of hectares affected, alongside the one that took place in Riotinto in 2004. On that occasion, the area reached 34,000 hectares, and in this year’s case, more than 38,000 hectares have already been reported, although the first vice president of the Junta de Andalucía and Minister of Health and Emergencies, Antonio Sanz, has insisted that the finally burned area will be “considerably smaller.”
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One way or another, the dramatic story of the so-called Berrocal fire, which started in Minas de Riotinto in July 2004, is repeating itself in these municipalities. And it affects both those in the province of Huelva — El Berrocal, Zalamea La Real, Nerva, and Paterna del Campo — as well as the case in Seville, with El Madroño and Aznalcóllar among the affected.
In 2026, Andalusia had already reached another harsh record regarding forest fires. In this case, the one in Los Gallardos (Almería), declared this past July 9 in the Almocáizar area, left 14 dead and 18 people treated. Given these figures, it has been classified as the deadliest fire recorded in Spain in the 21st century, surpassing the Riba de Saelices (Guadalajara) fire in 2005, which held the record with 11 deaths.
The fire affected about 5,200 hectares of Los Gallardos, Bédar, Lubrín, Antas, and Sorbas and forced the evacuation of around a thousand people. Finally, the flames were extinguished on July 24, 15 days after it started. Currently, family members continue to appear as private prosecutors in the judicial case opened to clarify the circumstances of the fire — most of the dead were foreigners –.
On the other hand, another of the most severe fires declared in Andalusia in recent years was the Sierra Bermeja forest fire (Málaga), declared on September 8, 2021, and extinguished a month and a half later, on October 24. This fire was classified as sixth generation due to its characteristics, burned about 10,000 hectares, and during the extinction efforts, a forest firefighter died.
Similarly, the fire forced the evacuation of more than 2,600 people from eight municipalities in Málaga in the Sierra Bermeja and Genal Valley areas; specifically the citizens of Jubrique, Genalguacil, Pujerra, Júzcar, Alpandeire, and Faraján; as well as part of the population of residential areas in Estepona and Benahavís.
Besides Niebla and Sierra Bermeja, one of the most important at the regional level in the last decade was the Quesada forest fire (Jaén), dating back to the summer of 2015, with 9,761 hectares affected mainly in the municipalities of Quesada and Huesa and, to a lesser extent, Pozo Alcón and Larva. Specifically, it was on July 5, 2015, when an electrical storm caused the fire in the area known as La Cruz de los Muchachos, which was managed to be extinguished at the gates of the Cazorla, Segura, and Las Villas Natural Park. This fire took a total of 25 days to be declared extinguished.
Passing through the province of Granada, the most severe fire recorded in recent years was in September 2022 in Los Guájares and affected more than 5,200 hectares with a perimeter of 150 kilometers in the municipalities of Los Guájares, Albuñuelas, El Pinar, El Valle, and Vélez de Benaudalla in the regions of the Costa Tropical and the southern Lecrín Valley. This fire was active for 27 days from September 8 when it started, and up to 250 firefighters and about twenty aerial resources intervened. Due to its complexity, about thirty people had to be evacuated; additionally, three Infoca brigadiers suffered minor injuries during the extinction efforts.
On the other hand, it is worth noting that in Níjar (Almería), in 2024, the fire in the El Jabonero area burned 1,332 forest hectares, with a total impact of 2,167 hectares, which forced the temporary evacuation of nearly 200 people from the Las Eras area and mobilized more than 200 personnel and 12 aerial resources. Likewise, in Sierra de Gádor, in 2014, the fire in the Cortijo La Gatuna area burned 3,169 hectares in the municipalities of Alhama de Almería, Santa Fe de Mondújar, Enix, Terque, and Gádor. There were 14 evacuations and more than 500 professionals participated. Additionally, this fire had repercussions in that the Supreme Court confirmed years later that Endesa had to compensate the Junta with 8.4 million euros for the damages.
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Huelva, the hardest hit
Regarding Huelva, it stands out as the most affected province by these forest fires by far and where most originate. In fact, the province of Huelva has recorded some of the largest fires in the history of Andalusia, between the current Niebla fire and the Riotinto fire in 2004.
The Riotinto fire was, until now, the largest fire recorded in the history of Andalusia, as it started in Huelva, and the town of Berrocal had to be evacuated, and it spread to the surroundings of the province of Seville, with a total of 34,000 hectares affected. This fire affected 13 municipalities; specifically, it burned areas of El Berrocal, Minas de Riotinto, Zalamea La Real, Nerva, Paterna del Campo, and Escacena del Campo in Huelva, and five other municipalities in Seville, such as Aznalcóllar, El Castillo de las Guardas, El Garrobo, Gerena, and El Madroño.
Additionally, the fire recorded two fatalities who died inside their car trying to escape the flames and more than a thousand evacuees. Due to the severe losses caused by the flames, the Junta de Andalucía and the central government mobilized a total of 77.6 million euros aimed at restoring the lands affected by the fire, 69.2 million euros from the Junta and 8.4 million euros from the government.
Other major fires in Huelva include the one declared in Almonte on July 25, 2022 — which was declared extinguished on the 29th of the same month — and which burned about 1,700 hectares, 600 in Bonares — one hundred of them agricultural land — and 1,100 hectares in Almonte and also affected the municipality of Rociana del Condado. On July 25, 2022, two fires were declared in Bonares and Almonte, although it was finally considered that the Almonte fire was a split from the initial one, which was the Bonares fire, and which also affected the municipality of Rociana del Condado. This fire burned a total of 1,700 hectares.
Likewise, in the summer of 2017, the province recorded the Las Peñuelas fire in Moguer (Huelva), which severely affected the Doñana Natural Area as it accounted for a total of 10,340 hectares of the 12,184 burned that year, during which 115 forestry actions were carried out in the province. This fire affected lands, mostly publicly owned, located in the mountains of the municipalities of Almonte, Lucena del Puerto, and the town of Moguer.
Due to its large extent and complexity, it forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 people, many of whom were housed in the Solvasa Hotel, the Mazagón Parador, the Doñana campsite, and other neighbors in the area known as Bonares, immigrants from settlements in the Las Madres and Las Posadillas areas, INTA personnel, and the El Acebuche Captive Breeding Center, where a lynx died.
On the other hand, in 2017 another significant fire occurred, the one started in La Granada de Riotinto, which burned about 4,000 hectares of oak and pine forest between Huelva and Seville. This caused a dozen evacuations in the town where it originated and also in Zufre, as well as more than 500 in El Castillo de las Guardas (Seville).
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