The Cinco Villas wildfire in Zaragoza has burned 12,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of six villages. Guadalajara and Madrid are battling two other wildfires, with more than 2,000 people ordered to remain indoors.
Spain is battling three active wildfires, while a fourth has already been extinguished on Friday, amid extreme heat, strong winds and low humidity.
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The most serious blaze is in the Cinco Villas district in the province of Zaragoza, where it has become the country's largest wildfire of the year after burning 12,000 hectares.
The fire, which broke out on Wednesday, remains "fairly active" and spread significantly overnight into Friday, according to authorities. Its perimeter has reached 60 kilometres, forcing the evacuation of six villages: Orés, Asín, Luesia, Malpica de Arba and Uncastillo in Zaragoza, and Petilla de Aragón in neighbouring Navarra. More than 1,100 people have been affected.
The blaze is mainly affecting Cerro de Cinco Villas, a pine forest area with a relay antenna, near the housing developments of Los Robles and San Lorenzo. The local council opened the municipal sports centre as a shelter, and the Military Emergency Unit (UME) deployed support units.
The Civil Guard arrested a man on Thursday on suspicion of having started the fire. Several residents alerted the authorities after seeing a person fleeing the area under suspicious circumstances.
At the time of his arrest, the suspect was carrying a rucksack containing multiple items, including numerous flammable items. Police also found that he had a criminal record for similar offences committed in other parts of Spain.
Regional Environment, Agriculture and Interior Minister Carlos Novillo said the move was aimed at defending Madrid's natural heritage, which he said had been placed at serious risk "because of one person, a heartless individual who started a major fire and put lives in danger."
The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, backed this decision and recalled that the regional executive had approved regulations allowing it to appear in court as a popular prosecution in certain offences, including those that harm natural heritage.
Meanwhile, the A-1204, CV-813, A-1202, CV-841 and CV-628 roads remain closed, although electricity has now been restored to all affected communities. Around 400 ground personnel and 19 aircraft were deployed to tackle the fire on Thursday, while firefighters spent the night focusing on protecting homes in Uncastillo.
Guadalajara calls for military reinforcements
In the northern sierra of Guadalajara, another fire declared on Thursday forced the evacuation of La Mierla, Muriel and Umbralejo, and the confinement of Almiruete, Palancares and the Beleña reservoir. The fire was detected by a lookout at 13:55 in La Mierla and spread rapidly: it burned 900 hectares in just a few hours, according to Juan José Fernández, director of the Regional Operational Centre for Forest Fires in Castilla-La Mancha. Given the ferocity of the blaze, the regional government requested intervention from the Military Emergency Unit, which has deployed around 100 personnel to the area.
Madrid, under control but not yet extinguished
The third active hotspot broke out on Thursday afternoon in Lozoyuela, in the northern sierra of Madrid. It is evolving favourably, although on Friday it was still not under control or fully contained, with 70 hectares burned. Since first thing in the morning, 28 ground resources have been working in the area, together with SUMMA112 emergency medical teams and ERICE Civil Protection units, awaiting the arrival of aerial resources.
On Thursday, a total of 100 people were evacuated, while more than 2,000 were ordered to remain indoors in Buitrago de Lozoya and the outlying hamlets of Cinco Villas and Manjirón, in the municipality of Puentes Viejas. In addition, the Civil Guard evacuated around 50 children from a summer camp in Gandullas.
The Community of Madrid activated Operational Situation 2 of the INFOMA wildfire plan and sent an ES-Alert warning to the population. Roads M-126 and M-135 remain closed, while the A-1 was closed for an hour on its northbound carriageway towards Burgos. The Hinojosas fire, which started on Wednesday in Ciudad Real, was extinguished after burning around 800 hectares.
A summer that keeps repeating itself
High temperatures, wind and low humidity, combined with the abundant vegetation left by a rainy spring, help explain the speed at which these fires have spread. Experts add that another underlying factor is the abandonment of forests and rural areas, together with climate change, creating conditions in which fires are becoming increasingly difficult to control.