Key points
- Wildfires in Spain have burned 373,000 hectares, the worst on record
- Zamora, Leon, Ourense, and Caceres are hardest hit
- Thousands evacuated; roads and rail lines disrupted
- Cooler weather is helping firefighting efforts
MADRID, Spain: Raging wildfires tore through an additional 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of western Spain in less than 24 hours, satellite data showed Tuesday, but cooler temperatures have raised hopes of containment.
Some 373,000 hectares (922,000 acres) have been scorched in Spain this year as of 0700 GMT Tuesday, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.
Worst fire season
That marks the country’s worst fire season since records began in 2006, surpassing 2022, when 306,000 hectares were consumed by flames.
The bulk of the devastation has come from massive fires that have been burning for more than a week in the northwestern provinces of Zamora and Leon, Galicia’s Ourense province, and Caceres in the western region of Extremadura.
Authorities have evacuated thousands of residents from dozens of villages.
Several major roads are closed, and rail services between Madrid and Galicia have been suspended.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was expected to visit fire-hit areas in Zamora and Caceres on Tuesday.
Improved conditions for firefighters
While officials warned that the blazes remain far from extinguished, the end of a 16-day heatwave has improved conditions for firefighters.
Maximum temperatures have dropped by 10 to 12 degrees Celsius and humidity levels have risen, the central government’s representative in Castile and Leon, Nicanor Sen, said.
“These changes are facilitating and improving the conditions to gain control of the fires,” he told public broadcaster TVE.
