48 crucial hours to contain the fires of Madrid and Ávila

MadridThe fire in Ávila, Madrid, and Toledo, which has burned more than 80,000 hectares and affects over 90,000 people – 63,000 evacuated and 29,000 confined – continues to burn amid weather conditions that do not help to extinguish it, due to high temperatures and low humidity, but which are more favorable than those expected from Wednesday onwards. From the advanced command post in Navalcarnero, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, emphasized the importance of the next 48 hours: Monday and Tuesday will be two "absolutely central" days, because afterwards the forecasts are "really negative" and will complicate – even more – the possibility of putting an end to a fire that has been burning since last Wednesday. "Two days are coming that will not have the conditions we would like, but we can be proactive in advancing the control of the fire," he added.

Wednesday will begin a new heatwave and Aemet warns that there will be a “ rise in temperatures ” that will “ skyrocket ” the risk of fires to “ very high or extreme ” levels in most of the State. Later, and with a message of “ moderate optimism ”, the delegate of the Spanish government in Madrid, Francisco Martín, expressed himself in the same terms: “ Work is being carried out with maximum intensity to take advantage of this window of opportunity that we have, not because the conditions are optimal, but because the conditions in the coming days will be worse ”.

For its part, the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has spoken of a “ serious and devilish ” situation, with “ negative and adverse ” weather conditions, and has pointed out that the Ávila fire “ constantly threatens ” that of Madrid. From La Vall d'Uixó (Castelló), where he visited the advanced command post of the fire that has burned more than 7,000 hectares, Pedro Sánchez has said that difficult and complex hours are coming for the State as a whole, as a result of the “ increase in temperatures ” in the coming days. Likewise, he has asked citizens for “ patience and understanding ” and has called for “ extreme prevention and caution ”.

In the case of Ávila, the 50,000 hectares burned make the fire the most extensive in Spain's recent history. In Madrid, 28,000 hectares have been burned in the worst fire in the region's history, and what Ayuso has presented as the “ greatest natural catastrophe in Spain's history ” due to the natural heritage that has been devastated. In this context, Minister Marlaska will meet telematically with the autonomous communities on Wednesday within the framework of the National Civil Protection Council. The meeting was convened on July 13 with another objective, but it will also serve to address the fire situation. The Madrid government has made it clear that it will attend “ all meetings that are fruitful thinking about the well-being of those affected ”.

The fight against the flames

“We are working, we have control over the emergency and we have the means, but we are going little by little because the climatic circumstances are not helping us at all,” said the Minister of the Interior. Currently, there are 3,000 personnel working directly and almost 1,000 ground, river, and air resources. Early on, the Spanish Government Delegation in Madrid reported that during the night “the advance” of the fire had “decreased,” that it “remains active and unstabilized,” and Fernando Grande-Marlaska highlighted that the emergency units had been able to be “more proactive” from five in the morning, after a night with high gusts of wind that had hindered extinction efforts.

The front that is of most concern – of the three that have been identified – is that of the Sant Joan reservoir, where a large part of the efforts of the emergency teams continue to be concentrated to prevent the flames from advancing north and entering the Guadarrama mountain range area. “We hope to be able to make substantial progress to avoid this danger,” said the minister. At midday, an ES-Alert message was sent to evacuate the municipality of Valdemaqueda, which had been confined since Friday.

However, there has also been some good news: the Escorial campsite, which was evacuated on Friday, has been able to reopen; the grandparents from the San Martín de Valdeiglesias residence have been able to return, and farmers have been allowed to access the affected areas to feed their livestock.

“The most painful expression of the climate emergency”

First thing, at the closing of the event to present the state network of climate shelters, where he announced aid of ten million euros to finance a thousand new ones, Pedro Sánchez once again alluded to climate change: “What we are experiencing is not a succession of isolated episodes, it is the most painful expression of the climate emergency,” he said about the fires. And he reiterated the call for all parties to unite in a state pact: “Let them join. This is indeed a national priority, future generations will judge us.” From La Vall d'Uixó, he insisted: “The sustained and systematic increase in temperatures that we are seeing every year is exponentially raising the spread and intensity of fires,” he lamented.

New extraordinary benefit from the Spanish government

At this Tuesday's cabinet meeting, the Spanish government will declare the territories hit by the fires as areas seriously affected by civil protection emergencies. For the moment, Moncloa indicates that it is finalizing the details and is not providing further specifics. In parallel, the Ministry of Labour is finalizing a package of strictly labor-related measures for companies and workers affected by these serious fires, according to sources from the ministry headed by Yolanda Díaz.

The same sources indicate that one of the labor measures will be a new conjunctural benefit for extreme emergency situations, which will be borne by the ministry. Therefore, the cost will not be transferred to employers, and workers will not see their rights reduced. This is not only because they cannot go to work, but also because they are in a situation that prevents them from doing so. This aid will be added to structural measures already in place, which only need to be activated, such as climate labor permits. “It's not that we don't have measures, but rather that we are providing a specific benefit for the particular circumstances of the fires,” they add from the ministry, reports Núria Rius Montaner.