A wildfire that broke out Thursday in Spain’s Sierra Norte de Guadalajara has burned approximately 16,000 hectares and now spans a perimeter of 100 kilometers, leading authorities to classify the situation as “extreme risk.”
Fire Extinction Technical Director Gabriel García Marco stated that conditions promoting the spread of the rural fire are intensifying, and the blaze remains completely out of control. Given the rapid progression, firefighters are focusing their efforts primarily on protecting residential areas and containing active fronts.
Civil protection authorities ordered the lockdown of four additional towns—Ujados, La Miñosa, Albendiego, and Cañamares—due to the fast-moving flames. Spain has faced increasingly frequent and prolonged heatwaves in recent years, with temperatures frequently surpassing 40°C and creating ideal conditions for devastating wildfires.
Meanwhile, in southeastern France, a forest fire in the Var department burned roughly 180 hectares and forced the evacuation of at least 120 people amid a national high-risk fire alert.
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The Var Prefecture confirmed that the fire started in Taradeau and spread quickly due to strong winds and dry vegetation, reaching the municipality of Les Arcs-sur-Argens where three neighborhoods were evacuated.
By late afternoon, 255 firefighters, 122 ground vehicles, and 11 aircraft—including five Canadair planes, four helicopters, and two DASH aircraft—were deployed to contain the blaze. France has suffered multiple forest fires in recent weeks following three intense heatwaves that hit the country since late June.
