Huge wildfires stabilising in Spain, cooler forecast fuels hope worst is over

By Nacho Doce and Guillermo Martinez

GONDULFES, Spain (Reuters) -Wildfires raging in northern and western Spain have burned through nearly the same area in the past 24 hours as in all of last year, although the end of a 16-day heatwave and expected rainfall have fanned hopes that an end may be in sight.

The fires have spread over the regions of Extremadura, Galicia, and Castile and Leon, forcing authorities to suspend rail services and cut access to roads in the area, as well as blocking a 50 km (30 mile) stretch of the popular Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail.

Data on Tuesday from the European Forest Fire Information System showed the fires have burned vegetation on 38,000 hectares (94,000 acres) since Monday, just below 42,000 hectares during the whole of 2024.

However, the national weather agency, which on Monday declared the end of one of the longest heatwaves in the past five decades, now expects temperatures to fall and humidity to rise.

"The evolution is favourable, the teams are stabilising the fires," Castile and Leon regional leader Alfonso Fernandez Manueco told reporters.

The region, Spain's largest, is one of the worst hit by the blazes. "If weather trends continue, we will be better tomorrow than today and better the day after tomorrow," Manueco said.

The weather agency said adverse conditions would remain in southern Spain, including in part of Extremadura.

So far this year, an estimated 382,600 hectares have burned in Spain - an area equivalent to the size of the island of Mallorca - according to the EFFIS. It is the largest area in records that go back to 2006 and more than four times the 2006-2024 average.

Visiting the fires in Extremadura, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the government would declare many of the affected areas as emergency zones, which in practice means they will be eligible to receive aid for reconstruction.

Blaming the fires on the effects of climate change, he also said he would propose a plan next month to turn climate emergency policies into permanent state policies. He gave no details, but the authorities have been focusing on fire prevention and response planning.

"We're seeing the climate emergency accelerate and worsen significantly, particularly in the Iberian Peninsula, each year," he said.

Opposition leaders have said his proposal is a way to divert attention from his government's poor handling of the fires.

Most of Southern Europe is experiencing one of its worst wildfire seasons in two decades.

The Spanish army has deployed 3,400 troops and 50 aircraft to help firefighters, while Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands and Slovakia have sent hundreds of firefighters, vehicles and aircraft.

The Interior Ministry said that since June, 32 people have been arrested and 93 were under investigation for suspected arson.

(Writing by Inti Landauro; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Alison Williams)