Spain Fires: 77,000 hectares burned, national emergency declared for first time

Herz — World Desk · 27 July 2026 at 12:57 · 30s summary · 3 min read

What we know

The fire ravaging the Ávila region, west of Madrid, has become the largest ever recorded in Spain. According to the Spanish government, more than 77,000 hectares had burned by July 27, 2026, including 25,000 in the Madrid region alone.

The Spanish government declared a national emergency for wildfires—an unprecedented first in the country's history. Several separate fires near Madrid merged to form a mega-fire that remains active.

By July 27, 75,000 people had evacuated their homes in the Madrid and Valencia regions. One person died in a separate fire near Valencia.

Madrid triggered an air quality alert on July 25, 2026, due to persistent orange haze caused by the flames. Experts believe that only a weather change would allow certain fires to be controlled.

Situation in France

In France, 197,000 people had been evacuated by July 25, 2026, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. Cap Ferret in Gironde was entirely evacuated on July 24, affecting more than 40,000 people.

The Interior Minister described these evacuations as "probably" the largest in peacetime ever known in the country.

In Gironde, fires burned an area equivalent to four times the size of Paris. The Landes region was also affected, with approximately 30,000 people displaced.

France had at least 32 active fires simultaneously on July 24, 2026. No deaths had been reported in France by July 25, but dozens of firefighters were injured.

The numbers