The fire in Ávila has burned 50,000 hectares in five days and becomes the largest in the history of Spain

MadridAfter a weekend of immense efforts to extinguish them, the flames continue to ravage various parts of the State affected by the fires. The forest fire that originated on Wednesday in Burgohondo (Ávila) has burned 50,000 hectares and covers a perimeter of about 280 kilometers. According to the third vice-president of the Spanish government, Sara Aagesen, it has become the largest in recent history in the State. This Sunday afternoon, the wind still gave it more strength, and since Friday it has become complicated due to the simultaneity with the Madrid fire, which has affected more than 25,000 hectares. Added to the 2,000 that have also been scorched in Toledo, this front – which ishas been jointly fighting as a single fire since Saturday– has burned 77,000 hectares in total. In addition, it has affected 90,000 people: 60,000 evacuated and 30,000 confined.

In parallel, the fire in Vall d'Uixó continues out of control: it broke out on Saturday in the Espadà mountain range, in the Castellón region of La Plana Baixa, in the Valencian Country; and it has already burned 6,500 hectares. It has a perimeter of 48 kilometers and has left 16,600 people evacuated and 64,000 confined. This Monday, firefighters are already working to slow the advance of the fire and be able to stabilize it as soon as possible. On Sunday it advanced 6 kilometers and the weather forecast predicts a decrease in wind strength. The Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, will visit the affected area of this fire in Vall d'Uixó on Monday.

Throughout 2026, 153,000 hectares have been affected by fires, six times more than in 2025 by this date. In addition, this year there have been 32 large fires.

La Vall d'Uixó, a fire “out of control”

In the Valencian Country, there are 450 firefighters battling the flames and 30 aerial means. Among the 16,600 evacuated people are the inhabitants of 18 towns and urbanizations in the area. Among them, nearly a thousand residents from the Texas neighborhood and 113 people from a residence; and entire municipalities, such as Assuévar and Almedíxer, which were evacuated on Sunday. The balance of those affected also includes nineteen people who have needed medical assistance for smoke inhalation. All of them were visited at the La Plana hospital, where one of them is still admitted and seven remain under observation.

In addition to the evictions, there are also 64,000 residents confined: 32,000 in Vall d'Uixó, 5,700 in Betxí, and 26,200 in Onda. The confinement has been decreed until further notice to guarantee people's safety and keep access routes to emergency services clear.

Sunday, after the "worst night in history" for the municipality, the mayor of La Vall d'Uixó, Tania Baños, warned that the fire was "totally out of control". The president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, reiterated that the situation is extremely difficult due to adverse meteorological conditions, which mean the fire continues to be "out of control" and that extinguishing it is still "very complicated". Furthermore, the main focus of concern, in the Sierra de Espadà, is in an area with abrupt orography and difficult access for aerial means, which complicates extinction tasks. For her part, the delegate of the Spanish government in the Valencian Country, Pilar Bernabé, said that initial investigations suggest that the fire "does not appear to have been caused by natural causes".

At the same time, the fires that are ravaging the peninsular center have caused forty municipalities to be evacuated: seventeen in Ávila, twelve in Madrid, and eleven in Toledo, in addition to seven confined localities. The smoke from the fires burning in the Peninsula is noticeable from Catalonia, where the sky turned an orange color this Sunday.

Ávila, area seriously affected by emergencies

The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, traveled on Sunday to the advanced command center in Navaluenga (Ávila). From there, he celebrated that the night had been “much more positive” in relation to “the evolution and control” of the fire, but warned that —complex hours” remained. Likewise, he insisted that making a state pact against the climate emergency is “an exigency and a moral duty” and announced that the Council of Ministers will declare Ávila on Tuesday as a zone seriously affected by civil protection emergencies.

For his part, the president of Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, warned that the fire is ’extraordinarily complex” due to meteorological conditions and the simultaneity of the two fronts, the eastern one and the one from Madrid, which “are mutually conditioning each other.” He also praised that the ‘coordination’ between all institutions is being ‘effective and fundamental’ and anticipated that the Castilla y León government will appear as a plaintiff in the case of the alleged perpetrator of the fire.

Meanwhile, the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has highlighted that the coordination “is going well” and has asked to avoid “unnecessary wars”. Likewise, she has opted for strengthening penalties to punish people who start fires through negligence or intentionally and has closed the door to the state pact proposed by Moncloa. The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has asked for unity and said that "the most difficult moment" of the summer regarding fires is still ahead.

90,000 affected in Madrid: “The entire front is contained”

In Madrid there are 12 evacuated municipalities and forty houses that have been destroyed. Also 300 that are seriously damaged. This Sunday, the head of the first emergency intervention battalion of the Military Emergencies Unit (UME), Alfonso Rivas, explained on channel 24h that during the night they had "advanced considerably" in the fight against the flames throughout the perimeter: "The advance [of the fire] is minimal and does not seem like it will exceed the other control lines we have established", he celebrated. "The entire front is contained, there are active heads that are being worked on", he stressed. The Spanish government delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín, explained that, in the east, the front is "consolidated", while in the west the objective continues to be to "stop" the flames and protect the populations, as well as in the north, where a large part of the efforts are concentrated to prevent new spread.

For their part, the Secretary General of Civil Protection, Virginia Barcones, highlighted the "strength" of the "whole State" to "defend itself tooth and nail" from a "monster". Also this Sunday, King Felipe VI traveled to the municipality of Villamanta to visit the evacuated residents, he highlighted "some positive symptoms" in the evolution of the flames and thanked that the "exemplary coordination" is a "good message". In the same vein, Sara Aagesen boasted that the "joint work" is being "extraordinary". The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Marlaska, assured that the extinction work "little by little is going in a positive direction" despite the adverse weather.