The Spanish government declares a national emergency in the Community of Madrid and Ávila due to fires

The Spanish government has declared a national emergency in the Community of Madrid and the province of Ávila. It did so on Thursday night to Friday morning due to the evolution of the forest fires declared in Villa del Prado and San Martín de Valdeiglesias (Madrid) and Burgohondo (Ávila).

The government's response also comes hours after the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, asked Moncloa to declare operational situation 3 of national interest in view of "the seriousness and simultaneity" of the forest fires that are now affecting three autonomous communities.

She did so through a post on her "X" account, where she urged the central government to act in order to prevent the new fire coming from Ávila from worsening the situation, as the forecast is that it will reach the Community of Madrid during the early hours of Friday.

For their part, the Councilor for Environment, Agriculture and Interior of the Community of Madrid, Carlos Novillo, has insisted that the fires are "beyond extinction capacity". "We have a situation that affects the safety of thousands of Madrileños who are currently evacuated," Novillo remarked.

Marlaska at the helm

As a consequence of the emergency decree, the Spanish government's Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, will assume the direction and coordination of actions in the face of fires. This implies, for example, that he will decide the management of state, regional, and local resources in both the Community of Madrid and Ávila.

According to Interior sources to EFE, the decision has been made "due to the concurrence of these fires, together with particularly adverse weather conditions and the need to mobilize a significant volume of resources from different public administrations".

10,000 evacuated

The flames of the three simultaneous fires have forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people in four municipalities in the area.

In total, the Community of Madrid has been affected by three fires: one in Villa del Prado, which reaches Aldea del Fresno, another in San Martín de Valdeiglesias, which affects the area of Pelayos de la Presa, and a third declared in Almorox (Toledo), which is in the stabilization phase.

Regarding the personnel, there are 270 people operating in the area, in addition to two sections of the UME with 40 units.