Fires in Madrid and Ávila burn uncontrollably despite firefighters' efforts during the early morning

BarcelonaThe fires in Madrid and Castile and León have remained out of control during the night from Friday to Saturday despite the efforts of firefighters to take advantage of the favorable night hours to advance their extinction. One of the main obstacles is the weather, which hinders the work of the extinguishing corps: "Today's day presents a meteorologically complex scenario", with a "new increase in wind intensity" and "abrupt changes in direction", the government of the Community of Madrid reported this Saturday morning.

The fires have burned between 13,000 and 15,000 hectares in Ávila and almost 10,000 more in Madrid, although the Castile and León front has not yet entered Madrid territory, according to the Ministry of the Interior. The fear of the emergency services is that the fires will join together at some point and create a single front difficult to combat.

The extinguishing services in the Community of Madrid have worked "intensely" this early morning to try to curb the advance of the flames, which will depend on the wind patterns in the coming hours, according to reports. The 112 emergency service of the Community of Madrid reported in a message on social network X that they worked in the early morning to take advantage of the more favorable meteorological conditions of those hours, but warned that the fire remains active and its evolution will be determined by the winds this Saturday.

Although they remain out of control, the Ministry of the Interior has reported that "the fires during the night have advanced very little and have decreased in intensity". "The change in meteorological conditions (less wind, higher humidity, and lower temperature) has benefited the fight against forest fires", added the ministry in a message sent to the press. However, like the regional government of Madrid, the Interior also warned that the scenario will become complicated throughout Saturday due to the increase in wind, which will be a sustained 30 kilometers per hour with gusts of up to 60.

During the night, 112 deployed a device to assist residents of the affected towns with 17 ambulances, a psychologist, and two intensive care units (ICU). The regional government of Madrid has asked citizens to avoid traveling to the areas affected by the fire, not to go to reservoirs or recreational areas near the affected spaces, and to follow the instructions of the security forces. In a message on the same social network, it recalled that facilitating the work of emergency teams helps save lives.

Friday's day ended with more than 60,000 people confined or evacuated due to the fires. The majority of affected people, around 50,000, are from the Madrid municipalities in the western mountain range of Madrid affected by the evacuations, while around 13,000 are from the Ávila area.