Spain wildfire evacuations widen as police arrest tractor driver
Police accused a tractor driver of starting a blaze as fires in Spain and France forced more than 100,000 people from homes.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Spain wildfire evacuations widened after police arrested a tractor driver accused of starting a blaze with farm machinery, while fires in Spain and France forced more than 100,000 people from their homes. The arrest came as Spain announced its first national wildfire emergency and crews struggled to contain fires around Madrid and in other regions, Al Jazeera and AFP reported.
Police said a second person is under investigation in a similar case. Authorities had banned the use of farm machinery and other activities because of dry, high-risk conditions linked to the heatwave, according to Al Jazeera and AFP.
The fire tied to the arrested tractor driver helped merge two blazes west of Madrid into one front, officials said. That fire has burned about 30 square kilometres, or 11.5 square miles, and officials described it as the worst wildfire in the Madrid region’s history.
How many people have been evacuated in Spain and France?
More than 100,000 people have been told to leave or seek safety because of fires in Spain and France, Al Jazeera and AFP reported. West of Madrid, local authorities ordered about 40,000 people to evacuate or remain indoors as flames advanced.
In Spain’s Avila province, a separate fire has burned 90 square kilometres, or 35 square miles, and displaced about 1,500 people, according to officials cited by Al Jazeera and AFP. The province is part of Castilla y Leon, the same central region affected by several other fires.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X that his government had sent “all available resources” to respond to a “dramatic situation” that was spreading beyond Spain. Carlos Novillo, emergency management chief for the Madrid regional government, told reporters the wildfire was at its peak and beyond firefighters’ capacity to contain.
Where are the fires burning in France?
France is fighting major fires in its southwest. One blaze on the Cap Ferret Peninsula has burned about 125 square kilometres, or 50 square miles, and forced about 44,000 people to evacuate the Gironde department, including some who left by boat, Al Jazeera and AFP reported.
Another fire in the Landes region has displaced about 23,000 people. French authorities asked the European Union for more firefighting support as fires burned on two fronts in the southwest.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the country had 32 active wildfires. He said more than 50,000 hectares, or 123,500 acres, have burned in France since January, almost three times last year’s total.
What help is the EU sending?
The European Union has sent four water-bombing aircraft to Spain and three to France, according to Al Jazeera and AFP. Italy, Greece, Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have also pledged additional support.
The World Health Organization’s European office said the amount of land burned by wildfires across Europe has increased 57 percent in four years. It said fires in Spain and Portugal have more than doubled since last year.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.