Spain Fights to 'Save Lives' as Wildfire Evacuees Shelter in Madrid
Authorities said 19,000 people have been evacuated or confined as strong winds, low humidity and heat drive blazes toward a possible merger.
- Late Thursday, Spain's government declared a national emergency in the Madrid region and Avila province after wildfires forced at least 30,000 people to flee, placing the Military Emergency Unit in charge of coordinating the response.
- Wildfires have surged amid extreme heat, drought, and strong winds, creating an 'unfavourable situation' for firefighters; Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska warned on Friday that crews are struggling to prevent the 'convergence' of multiple blazes.
- Evacuations have included more than 430 elderly people and residents with disabilities from five care homes; most of the 178 residents at the Lopez Rumayor care home were relocated to a municipal sports hall.
- Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote that Spain 'has deployed all available resources' to combat the crisis, while both Spain and France appealed to the European Union for support tackling the wildfires.
- Weather conditions were 'expected to improve' overnight Saturday, according to EvacuationsCarlos Novillo, while separate wildfires near Bordeaux, France, have destroyed more than 50 homes and 10,000 hectares of land.
48 Articles
48 Articles
Spain fights to 'save lives' as wildfire evacuees shelter in Madrid
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Saturday firefighters were working to "save lives" in the blazes raging west of Madrid, as authorities said a separate fire in the east killed one person.
The impressive images, taken from the cabin of a fire truck, show firefighters crossing a fire front in the Community of Madrid. Between smoke and flames enveloping the street, one of them says: "If we stop we are in trouble." Spain declared the state of national emergency for the vast fires that are hitting the regions of Madrid and Ávila, with thousands of people evacuated and tens of thousands of hectares already smoked.
The serious forest fire that affects the Sierra Oeste de Madrid and the east of the province of Ávila has forced to evacuate about 88,000 people in the last hours. With the unification of command under the Military Emergency Unit (UME), the authorities continue to prioritize the protection of human lives.Locations evacuated ... Continue reading "Map of all populations evacuated and confined by the fires in Madrid and Ávila"
The evolution of fire forces new evacuations as long as the authorities do not rule out extending protection measures.
There are 13 municipalities and 50,000 people evacuated only in the Community. More information: Sánchez anticipates 'complex hours' in the Madrid fire but announces the arrival of media from 10 Autonomous Communities, Italy and Greece
The regional leader has attended to the media to report on the evolution of the fire
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