Spain, Portugal Battle Severe Wildfires
(MENAFN) Spain and Portugal are grappling with a severe wildfire crisis, with nearly 1.3 million acres destroyed and dozens of fires still raging, officials and local media reported Wednesday.
In Spain alone, approximately 350,000 hectares (865,000 acres) have gone up in flames in just under two weeks, according to media, which cited data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). Since the beginning of 2025, the total area burned has reached 391,581 hectares (967,616 acres), the publication added.
Authorities continue to combat 22 high-risk fires across the Spanish regions of Galicia, Castile and Leon, and Extremadura.
Amid intensifying conditions, police have arrested a suspect accused of igniting three simultaneous fires in Madrid on Tuesday.
In response to the worsening crisis, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed the government will officially designate the affected territories as disaster zones next Tuesday.
Neighboring Portugal is also contending with wildfires, battling at least four active blazes as of early Wednesday.
Tragedy struck in Mirandela, in Portugal's Braganca district, where a 65-year-old man died Tuesday night after being run over by the machine he was using to fight a fire, according to Diario De Noticias. The incident raises the country’s wildfire death toll this year to three.
The same report, citing preliminary official figures, said that more than 222,000 hectares (548,500 acres) have burned in Portugal as of August 20 — surpassing the total wildfire damage recorded throughout all of 2024.
This year’s wildfire season is shaping up to be one of the most destructive in recent memory for the Iberian Peninsula, with environmental conditions and human activity fueling a relentless spread of flames.
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