BARCELONA – Firefighters in central Spain on Wednesday battled a wildfire that has burned over 32,000 hectares (79,000 acres) in one of the largest blazes in recent memory for the southern European country.
The fire in rural Guadalajara comes less than two weeks after a deadly blaze devastated a small expat community in southern Spain. That small but extremely virulent fire killed 13 people, including several foreigners, in one of Spain’s deadliest wildfires.
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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday visited the fire-ravaged area in Guadalajara, located less than two hours by car northeast of Madrid, where some 34 villages have been evacuated. There are no reported serious injuries or deaths.
“Year after year we clearly see how climate change kills and destroys wealth in our communities,” Sánchez said in village of Tamajón.
“This isn’t politics. It is science, it’s about facts,” Sánchez said, making a call for a national pact among all political parties to fight climate change.
Spain this year has already suffered 22 major forest fires, which is defined as a fire that burns over 500 hectares (1,235 acres). The fires have burned four times the amount of terrain compared to July of last year, Sánchez said.
The Socialist leader said over 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) had already been scorched through the first half of the year, matching the total yearly average for Spain over the last decade.
Spain’s Minister for the Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, described the Guadalajara fire as “one of the largest in the recent history of our country" and the largest ever for the region of Castilla La Mancha.
Regional authorities said firefighters supported by water-dumping aircraft had so far protected the homes of all 40 villages in the burned area, 90% of which belongs to a national park. Firefighters hope to have the nearly week-old fire under control by Friday, said Emiliano García-Page, regional president of Castilla La Mancha.
Miguel Ángel Moreno, mayor of the village of Zarzuela de Jadraque, said its 100 residents were evacuated Friday, with 14 taking refuge at a Red Cross shelter.
Firefighters battled the blaze inside the village and saved all the local homes, even if two barns went up in flames, Moreno said, adding that the firefighters should receive as much admiration as the soccer players who won the World Cup on Sunday.
“(The firefighters) had to run from one side of the village to the other putting out fires,” Moreno told Spanish national television TVE. “Besides the heroes who won the World Cup, we have other heroes who remain nameless.”
New heat wave could complicate firefighting efforts
Spain’s weather agency said a heat wave that began Tuesday was expected to reach its peak between Wednesday and Thursday, with temperatures pushing 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in several inland areas and even crossing 42 Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) in parts of Andalusia in southern Spain.
Guadalajara and large areas of Spain were under alert for high temperatures.
Like other countries, Spain is experiencing extreme heat, which is combining with wind and limited rainfall to create ideal conditions for small wildfires to grow unchecked.
Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as quickly as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing severe heat waves across Europe. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness especially in southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires.