Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska declared a national state of emergency in the provinces of Madrid and Ávila due to the evolving wildfire situation.
According to the Interior Ministry, the decision was made in response to the scale of the fires in the municipalities of Villa del Prado and San Martín de Valdeiglesias, in Madrid, and Burgohondo, in Ávila, along with particularly adverse weather conditions and the need to mobilize a significant volume of resources from different public administrations.
The Ministry said in a statement issued Thursday night, released just hours after the Community of Madrid requested the declaration, that these factors had increased the complexity of firefighting and civil protection efforts.
The Ministry took into account the existence of preventive evacuations, the threat posed by fires reaching urban areas, and the potential for the emergency to have an impact beyond the affected territory.
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This afternoon, Marlaska traveled to the advanced command post located in the Madrid town of Cenicientos to monitor the progress of the fires currently burning in the region.
The Community of Madrid asked the central government on Thursday to declare Operational Situation 3 under the Community’s Civil Protection Plan Against Forest Fires (INFOMA). It also reported that the fires have exceeded its capacity to extinguish them and are affecting the safety of more than 10,000 Madrid residents, who are currently evacuated.
The President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, warned on Thursday that the weather forecast for the next 24 to 48 hours remains unfavorable, meaning the operation will continue with extreme caution and constant monitoring of the fire’s advance.
Speaking from the Advanced Command Post (PAC) in Cenicientos, Ayuso said that of the more than 850 hectares burned, approximately 600 are within the Community of Madrid, most of them in Villa del Prado and Aldea del Fresno.
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Ayuso indicated that the current priority is determining how many houses and properties have been affected, explaining that the condition of the buildings is still being inspected to establish the real extent of the damage.
The President of the Community of Madrid denounced what she called the neglect of rural areas in Spain and demanded that they be given a priority place on the public agenda, instead of focusing solely on profit, also arguing for the need to strengthen forest prevention efforts.
