More than 100,000 hectares burned in Spain, double the amount of last year
In recent days, four people have been arrested for having started some of the fires.
BarcelonaThe large number of fires that have been burning across Spain for several weeks has caused the number of hectares affected by fire in Spain to skyrocket in 2025. In fact, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), more than 10 hectares have been burned by fires in the State so far this year, more than double the number during the same period in 2024. However, in the first half of last year, 219 fires were recorded in Spain: this is more than the 199 that have started since the beginning of 2025, but this year's have been more devastating.
Another example of the virulence of the fires that have burned this year in the State can be found in the affectation of forests. This year, fires have already burned more forests than in the entire year of 2024. This Wednesday, there are a total of 14 active fires across seven autonomous communities in Spain. The majority of the fires are in Ourense and Castile and León.and 19 people have been injured as a result of the flames. Among those affected are four people in critical condition and two in the ICU, one with burns covering 85% of their body.
It was precisely in southern Galicia and northwestern Castile and León where the majority of active fires were still present on Wednesday. Of these, however, eight are particularly serious: they affect eight natural areas and yesterday, Tuesday, caused the death of a volunteer firefighter in León. The most serious are those in Yeres and Flames de Cabrera, in the province of León; those in Cerdas and Molezuelas de la Carballeda, in the province of Zamora; and one in Resoba, in the province of Palencia, all of them at level 2, the maximum established by the protocol.
In Castile and León, erratic winds and dry storms are complicating the firefighters' work. As of Wednesday, nearly 8,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in this autonomous community, with the most worrying fires in the provinces of Zamora and León. The 400 residents of six towns in Zamora who had been evacuated were able to return home, and the affected roads have been reopened as conditions improve for a fire that has already burned more than 18,000 hectares.
Another forty fires continued to burn out of control this Wednesday in southern Galicia, with more than 13,800 hectares already burned. Firefighting teams had to work hard early Wednesday morning in Galicia, mainly in Ourense, due to the forest fires that led to the activation of Emergency Situation 2 in this province and have forced the evacuation of population centers and the confinement of others, measures that have affected hundreds of people in the . On Wednesday night, the fires in the province of Ourense kept a dozen people confined – all residents of Vilariño da Serra – and another 27 remained evacuated: 25 users of a residence in Chandrexa de Queixa and two residents of Albarellos.
Around twenty residents of Somoza and another twenty from Penapetada, in the municipality of Trives, have been evacuated. In this municipality, more than 100 children and summer camp counselors had to spend the night confined to the Manzaneda Mountain Resort as a precaution. This Wednesday, after returning home, the children's reunion with their families left images of tears and hugs.
The fire also threatened areas in the municipality of Oímbra, where evacuations were also carried out, and the nearby town of A Mezquita, where 50 residents of a senior citizen residence were also evacuated and spent the night in another residence in the province of Ourense. However, the municipality hardest hit by the fire in the province of Ourense is Chandrexa de Queixa, where two major fires have burned a total of more than 6,000 hectares.
Also in Ourense, a forest fire between A Mezquita and A Gudiña has blocked high-speed trains between Madrid and Galicia starting at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday evening, Adif confirmed that traffic is "definitively suspended" all day due to the fire.
Two fatalities
The Puercas forest fire in the León province of Zamora left at least six injured, including two men who were admitted to the ICU with serious burns. They were two evacuated residents traveling in two vehicles during the evacuation, one of whom was delayed in leaving and the other who turned around as he was leaving, according to sources from the Spanish Government Delegation in Castilla y León.
The largest fire in this province, in Molezuelas de la Carballeda, has already burned 3,500 hectares and required evacuations and the lockdown of around fifteen villages. This is where one of the two fatalities in this wave of fires occurred: a 35-year-old man who was volunteering to help extinguish the fire. He was accompanied by another man who was injured by the flames. The other death occurred in the spectacular Tres Cantos fire in Madrid, which has now been declared under control. The victim was one of the horse farm workers, a 50-year-old man who tried to save the animals and suffered burns over 98% of his body and eventually died from the severity of his injuries. About twenty horses also died.
Arson
Hedevastating wave of fires ravaging the Spanish state, fueled by high temperatures and extreme dryness, is a clear consequence of the climate crisis, but in some of the fires, human intervention goes much further, as it has been confirmed that they were started by fires. In the last few hours, four people have been arrested as the perpetrators of several fires, including a worker on firefighting duties in Castilla y León and a woman in Galicia.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Civil Guard arrested a member of the firefighting team as the alleged perpetrator of the fire that broke out on July 28, which razed some 2,200 hectares between Cuevas del Valle and Mombeltrán, in southern Ávila. The man confessed to starting the fire and that his motivation was allegedly "employment-related," as he "obtained ten days of work after the fire started," according to the police force's statement.
This is not the only arrest made by the security forces. A woman is also being investigated for allegedly starting up to five forest fires that have broken out in recent days in Muxía, Galicia. Both witnesses and the contradictory account of the 63-year-old woman have led officers to suspect her possible guilt. Also in Galicia, a 34-year-old woman, a resident of the town of Cee, is being investigated for allegedly starting two fires in the municipality of Laxe.
A few days ago, another man, a 28-year-old, was arrested while intentionally trying to start a fire in Canibelos, Ourense, and another person was arrested on suspicion of starting another fire in Celanova, in the same province. This last detainee is also accused of being responsible for around twenty more fires.