Wildfires in Spain 2026 have dominated the headlines over the past two weeks, just as the country was still celebrating winning the World Cup. Unfortunately, the joy didn’t last long. For a week and a half now, multiple wildfires have broken out in Spain and also in France. The situation is very serious, but it seems to be improving. Let’s take a look.
What happened, Goguma?
Last week two wildfires broke out in Ávila, and another very close to the capital, Madrid. Due to the heat and especially the wind, the fires grew rapidly, far exceeding the firefighting capacity available at the time. What’s more, these two fire fronts are very close to each other, threatening to create a massive wall of fire destroying everything in its path.
What did the Spanish government do?
The regional governments requested help from the central government, which declared a state of emergency and took command of the situation. They deployed members of the UME (Military Emergency Unit), and thanks to the hard work of everyone involved, the situation has gradually improved, although around 50,000 hectares have already burned — the largest wildfire in Spain’s recent history, counting only the Ávila fire, according to several media outlets such as RTVE.
That said, thousands of people have had to be evacuated, and many of them still can’t return home, living with uncertainty about the state of their houses and belongings. But after the fires in Ávila and Madrid, there were more.
Vall d’Uixò, the man-made hell
This weekend was also hell in this eastern region of the country, but this time it’s almost certain it was deliberately set. Several fires broke out at different points; firefighters would put one out and shortly after another would appear. This can’t be a coincidence, and of course the weather is helping the arsonists a lot. These people should be locked up for life, or better yet, sent to the mountains to fight fires themselves. They clearly have something wrong in their heads to cause so much suffering.
But more could have been done to prevent this situation.
But Goguma, there have always been wildfires in Spain.
True, but since the 2008 crisis, the wildfire prevention budget has never recovered — we’re currently investing about 50% of what we used to, and that’s without even accounting for inflation. Prevention is expensive and doesn’t win votes. Or cheap, if you consider how much we’d save on firefighting. And in the end, if things get out of hand, you can always call in the UME to clean up the mess. But it shouldn’t be this way. Putting out a fire is a lot, but so much cheaper than extinguishing it and repairing all the damage caused. This should be seen as an investment, but it doesn’t win votes.
Situation in France
The problem isn’t exclusive to Spain — these days things are also getting out of control near Bordeaux, France, where the army has also been deployed to try to control the situation. I don’t know the area well, but I’ve read that the fire has practically reached the gates of the city, with thousands of evacuees. We should get used to this kind of phenomenon, because it’s only going to get worse. Climate change has made heatwaves more frequent and longer. And if it rains more than usual in spring, as happened this year, you get the perfect combo: plenty of fuel in the forests and very little prevention work. Unfortunately, I don’t see politicians stepping up to the task.
What do you all think? Will the miracle happen and will the administration finally start investing in prevention? Let me know in the comments.
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