Firefighting teams are trying to save homes in the blaze between Zamora and Ourense, which remains out of control.

Hours pass, but firefighting teams are unable to control the blaze burning between the provinces of Ourense, in Galicia, and Zamora, in Castile and León. Firefighters are powerless to control the flames and are now focusing their efforts on trying to save homes threatened by the flames, especially in small towns in Zamora. The fire has reached the area from Ourense, which has become one of the epicenters of the fires that have been raging for days. They ravage different Spanish regions.

In Ourense, the fire has numerous fronts, and two have entered through the Hermisende and Pías valleys, in the Alta Sanabria region, and already in Zamora. Here, 1,700 people have been evacuated from their homes. After working on the ground all night, aerial resources were incorporated into the extinguishing efforts early this morning, all of them monitoring the wind direction, a key element in trying to stop the force of the flames, which are devouring oak and pine forests in their path. The gusts of wind and frequent changes in direction complicate extinguishing efforts, which are taking place in the midst of a heat wave on the Peninsula, with very high temperatures. This Friday, a new fire broke out in Toques, a municipality in A Coruña; The proximity of the flames to an inhabited area has led regional authorities to activate Emergency Situation 2, which affects the entire province of Ourense, where more than 26,000 hectares have already been burned. The most devastating fire in the province, the Chandrexa de Queixa fire, has already burned more than 11,000 hectares. Throughout Ourense, the scene is one of devastation, with villages razed to the ground, houses on fire, dead animals...

In Castilla y León, there are a total of twelve active fires, nine of them level 2 and three level 1. Most are concentrated in the province of León. One of the most worrying is the one that broke out yesterday in La Uña, in the Riaño region of León, which has worsened in recent hours. Of the six injuries reported so far in the region, four remain in critical condition.

A total of 1,300 members of the Military Emergency Unit are participating in the extinguishing of the various fires. In addition to these personnel, 2,100 are assigned to logistical support tasks. The military is deployed to the fires affecting Ourense, Castilla y León, Asturias, Extremadura, and Teresa de Cofrentes, in the Valencian Community. These are level 2 fires, which activates the participation of the UME.

Ayuso's excuses

Isabel Díaz Ayuso reappeared this Friday after days of absence. The Madrid president, criticized for continuing her vacation in Miami while a devastating fire raged in her region, said today that politicians "must be in the right place to be useful." The PP leader defended herself against criticism by arguing that the region of Madrid "has the largest investment per hectare in fire prevention in Spain, and the best resources in Europe." Ayuso agreed with Vox in arguing that "the ideological agenda" is responsible for the inability to fight fires more effectively, alluding to policies combating climate change, a battle between right-wing and conservative forces across the Western world.

From Castile and León, where he has traveled to closely monitor the firefighting efforts, Alberto Núñez Feijóo has called on the Spanish government to mobilize the army, asserting that the "extraordinary and critical" situation is only going to worsen. Accompanied by the region's president, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, Feijóo reiterated his criticism of Pedro Sánchez's administration, saying it has reduced the aerial resources needed to combat the fires and is not efficiently coordinating its resources with those of the autonomous communities.