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Forest fires grabbing Spain and Portugal have forced the evacuations and the deployment of thousands of emergency staff as a heat wave continues to ravage the Iberian peninsula.
The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited regions affected by forest fires in Oorense and León to meet the leaders of the emergency and coordination teams. He was accompanied by the Spanish Minister of the Interior Fernando Grande-Marlaka.
At a press conference, Sánchez said that “the following hours and days are essential” and that the government would provide the help necessary to extinguish fires, including 500 additional soldiers.
Sánchez said that the operations under way by emergency staff were “probably” the greatest mobilization of European civil protection in history. He also said that the Spanish government would offer a state pact to adapt the country to climate change.
As part of the visit, Sánchez met the regional president of Galicien Alfonso Rueda and the government delegate in Castille and León, Nicanor Sen. He should visit other parts of Spain affected by fires next week.
High temperatures in Spain have triggered a wave of fires which are particularly worrying in Galicia, León and Cáceres. Local media report that thirteen active forest fires burn in the region.
Forest fires have already burned more than 115,000 hectares of land. This includes more than 50,000 in Galicia only – most of them in the province of Ohisen, which has been the hardest to date.
According to the Spanish Interior Ministry, more than 13,600 members of the state security forces were deployed to fight forest fires.
About 575 residents of several cities in Salamanca were evacuated due to fires, a local news agency reported.
Temperatures in Spain should remain very high until Monday. They could exceed 44 degrees Celsius in certain parts of the affected areas, according to the Spanish Meteorological Agency.
In neighboring Portugal, more than 3,200 firefighters fought nine major fires on Sunday. Most were concentrated in the cities of Arganil and Sátão.
Continental Portugal has been affected by Several forest fires Since July, especially in the northern and power plant regions. High temperatures have led to the declaration of an alert state, which remains in force.
Fires in Portugal have caused the death of at least one person and several injuries.
According to provisional official data, 139,000 hectares of land were burned in the country due to fires. It is 17 times more than in the same period in 2024. Almost half of this was consumed in just two days this week.
Friday, the Portuguese government Assistance requested From the EU civil protection mechanism, a strength to fight fire that European countries in need may appeal.
Portuguese media report that two fire boss planes should now arrive on Monday to strengthen fire fighting efforts in the country.
