John AdoyiSpain has deployed 500 additional soldiers to contain raging wildfires that have killed three people and scorched more than 115,000 hectares in just a week, making this one of the country’s most destructive fire seasons in years.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the deployment on Sunday, raising the total number of military personnel involved in firefighting to nearly 1,900. “There are still some challenging days ahead and, unfortunately, the weather is not on our side,” Sánchez said during a visit to the hard-hit Galicia region, where dozens of villages have been evacuated.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAuthorities say more than 20 major blazes are burning across the country, fanned by record temperatures reaching 45 °C and months of drought. High-speed rail lines between Madrid and Galicia were suspended, while thick smoke has left residents in Ourense and neighbouring towns sheltering indoors.
Virginia Barcones, Spain’s emergency services chief, warned that conditions remain critical. “Today there are extremely high temperatures with an extreme risk of fires, which complicates the firefighting efforts,” she told national broadcaster TVE.
The blazes have revived memories of 2024, when fires destroyed around 90,000 hectares in Spain, already considered a devastating season. This year’s toll has surpassed that in a matter of days, underlining the accelerating impact of climate extremes in southern Europe.
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Spain has also requested assistance through the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism. Firefighting planes from France, Italy and the Netherlands have been deployed, in what officials describe as the largest joint operation of its kind. “This is probably the largest mobilisation of the civil protection mechanism in the history of the European Union,” Sánchez said.
Scientists say Spain is among the countries most vulnerable to climate-driven wildfires. A climate researcher said the rising frequency of heatwaves is creating dangerous new fire conditions. “The link between climate change and these fires is undeniable,” he said. “Southern Europe is becoming a hotspot where fires behave more like firestorms.”
Spain is not alone in facing catastrophic blazes this summer. Neighbouring Portugal has evacuated hundreds of residents as flames spread through its northern districts. Greece and Italy have also struggled with wildfires that destroyed homes and forced mass evacuations earlier in August, while wildfires in California and Canada have disrupted travel and triggered air quality warnings across North America.
The Spanish government is calling for an EU-wide climate adaptation pact to better prepare for worsening fire seasons. Sánchez argued that more investment is needed in prevention, rapid response and community resilience.
For now, firefighters hope a slight dip in temperatures forecast for the coming week will provide relief. But with thousands still displaced and vast tracts of woodland destroyed, officials caution the crisis is far from over.
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