One dead and thousands evacuated: simultaneous fires burn in different parts of the state.

A man who suffered burns over 98% of his body this Monday in the spectacular Tres Cantos fire (Madrid) died from his injuries, according to EFE. He is the first victim of the wave of simultaneous fires burning in different parts of the country. The man was rescued by emergency services from a home in a housing estate on Monday, shortly after the blaze started in this Madrid town. He was taken to a hospital, but the medical team was unable to save his life.

The images coming from the Tres Cantos fire, in northern Madrid, are chilling. The flames, fanned by the wind, have forced the evacuation of two housing estates very close to the city center. Firefighters have already managed to surround the flames after they have scorched 1,000 hectares and continue working to extinguish them. The Tres Cantos fire is one of the most significant blazes raging in recent days in Spain, and has already caused, in addition to one fatality, three injuries and the evacuation of thousands of residents. Currently, major fires are active in Andalusia, Castile and León, Castile-La Mancha, Extremadura, Galicia, and Madrid.

The seriousness of the situation has led the Spanish government to activate the pre-emergency phase of the General State Emergency Plan for forest fires in several autonomous communities early this morning. A meeting of the State Coordination and Steering Committee is being held this morning to assess the fire situation and coordinate actions across various parts of the state. However, for the time being, the powers to address the various fires remain with the regional governments.

The situation is particularly serious in Castile and León, with ten forest fires raging in the regions of Zamora and León, forcing more than 3,800 residents to evacuate in some twenty towns, according to EFE. Aerial resources have already resumed extinguishing efforts this morning after a night that suggests some improvement in the situation, especially in the largest fire in Molezuelas de la Carballeda, which has already burned 3,500 hectares and required evacuations and the lockdown of some fifteen towns.

Among the other fires still active in this region is the Las Médulas Natural Site of High Natural Value, which has been devastated by flames in recent days. In this UNESCO World Heritage Site, some 1,500 hectares of vegetation were burned, although the fire did not affect the ancient Roman gold mines, which are one of the area's valuable tourist attractions. The fire situation has now improved, and firefighters have some flanks under control.

Another of the main centers of simultaneous firefighting is Tarifa, in Cádiz, where the fire has been burning in the Sierra de la Plata mountains since Monday. Nearly a thousand people have been evacuated from homes and hotels. The flames were seen yesterday near the beaches of Atlanterra and Los Alemanes, which are very busy during the peak holiday season, and some 2,000 people had to be evacuated.

The easterly winds of up to 50 km/h caused the flames to spread very quickly, according to the Andalusian government, which places the fire's starting point in an area of vegetation near the coast. Just six days ago, there was another fire in Tarifa, in the La Peña area, which forced the evacuation of 5,000 people from campsites and hotels. This is the second scare the fire has caused residents and vacationers in the area.

Why have the fires exploded if it rained so much?

The severe heat wave affecting the Iberian Peninsula—the second of the summer—is the main cause of this wave of fires. The main problem is that the extreme heat has been sustained for several days, which has dried out the land and caused extreme weather conditions. In many of the areas where the fires are burning, there is technically no drought, as the spring was rainy. But this summer's extremely high temperatures and the lack of rain in recent days have turned the forests into a true drought and a powder keg.

The grasses and bushes that grew thanks to the spring rainfall have dried out, becoming fuel in the event of a fire. And to all this, we must add another important factor: in some cases, some fires have been started or fanned by dry storms. A very dangerous phenomenon during the summer, as these storms produce virtually no precipitation, but are accompanied by strong winds and lightning that can quickly start fires.

In short, these are very severe conditions that result in very low humidity and a very high risk of fire. A small spark can be enough to start a major fire, and the current state of the forests means the flames are spreading relentlessly. Human carelessness and a lack of prevention and forest management are the final straw in this context of climate crisis, characterized above all by increasingly severe and prolonged heat waves that cause significant territorial water stress throughout the Peninsula.