Spain declares national emergency over wildfires in Madrid region

The Spanish government declared a national emergency on Thursday night in the Community of Madrid and the province of Ávila, in Castilla y León, due to the severity of the fires in the two regions, which have already forced the evacuation of approximately 11,500 people, according to local media.

The executive, thus assuming the coordination of the response to the fires, made the decision following the evolution of the fires in Villa del Prado and San Martín de Valdeiglesias (Madrid) and Burgohondo (Ávila) and hours after the Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, requested it.

In the Community of Madrid, more than 10,000 people have been evacuated due to three fires: one in Villa del Prado, affecting Llogaret del Fresno; another in San Martín de Valdeiglesias, affecting Pelayos de la Presa; and another in Almorox (Toledo), which is in the stabilization phase. In Ávila, the fire that broke out on Wednesday in Burgohondo has forced the evacuation of 1,500 people in a rural tourism center and a housing development in the municipality of El Tiemblo.