Wildfires in Spain and Portugal force evacuations and deployment of thousands of emergency personnel

Wildfires gripping Spain and Portugal forced evacuations and the deployment of thousands of emergency personnel as a heatwave continues to ravage the Iberian Peninsula. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited regions affected by forest fires in Ourense and León to meet with the heads of emergency and coordination teams. He was accompanied by Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska. 

In a press conference, Sánchez said "the next hours and days are critical" and that the government would provide the help needed to extinguish the fires, including 500 more military personnel.

Sánchez said the ongoing operations by emergency personnel was "probably" the largest European civil protection mobilisation in history. He also said the Spanish government would propose a state pact to adapt the country to climate change.

As part of the visit, Sánchez met with Galician regional president Alfonso Rueda and the government delegate in Castille and León, Nicanor Sen. He is set to visit other parts of Spain affected by the fires next week. 

High temperatures in Spain have sparked a wave of fires that are of particular concern in Galicia, León and Cáceres. Local media report up to thirteen active wildfires are burning in the region. 

The wildfires have already reportedly burned more than 115,000 hectares of land. This includes over 50,000 in Galicia alone – most of them in the province of Ourense, which has been the hardest hit so far. 

According to the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, over 13,600 members of the State Security Forces have been deployed to fight the forest fires. 

Around 575 residents of several towns in Salamanca were evacuated due to the fires, a local news agency reported.  

Temperatures in Spain are set to remain very high until Monday. They could exceed 44 degrees Celsius in parts of the affected areas, according to the Spanish state meteorological agency.  

In neighbouring Portugal, more than 3,200 firefighters battled nine major fires on Sunday. Most were concentrated in the towns of Arganil and Sátão.  

Mainland Portugal has been affected by multiple wildfires since July, particularly in the North and Central regions. High temperatures have led to the declaration of a state of alert, which remains in effect. 

The fires in Portugal have caused the death of at least one person as well as several injuries.  

According to provisional official data, 139,000 hectares of land have been burned in the country due to the fires. This is 17 times more than in the same period in 2024. Almost half of this was consumed in just two days this week. 

On Friday, the Portuguese government requested assistance from the EU’s civil protection mechanism, a firefighting force that European countries in need can call upon. 

Portuguese media reports that two Fire Boss aircraft are now expected to arrive on Monday to reinforce firefighting efforts in the nation.