MADRID, July 25, 2026 – At least 19,000 people in the Madrid region have been evacuated or ordered to remain indoors due to wildfires that have become the worst in the region's history, regional president Isabel Diaz Ayuso said on Friday.

The fires in the densely populated area around the Spanish capital have burned around 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres), Ayuso told reporters. She said that while an area of this size being burnt in other, more rural regions "would not be considered so significant," in Madrid "with such a high concentration of homes and people, it is a catastrophe."

Around 100 people have been treated for minor cases, mainly smoke inhalation or anxiety attacks, while at least 43 homes have been destroyed, Ayuso said. "The situation is completely unusual and catastrophic," she said, adding that the priority was "to save lives."

Spain declared a national emergency in the Madrid region and the province of Avila, near the capital, as several wildfires burned out of control, forcing the evacuation of more than 10,000 people. The measure, announced by the interior ministry, aims to speed up the deployment of resources and places the response in the hands of a military emergency unit.

Spanish authorities early Thursday sent evacuation messages to 3,500 people in Aldea de Fresno, about 60 kilometres from Madrid. The fire that broke out in Avila is spreading out of control, and residents in Burgohondo, El Tiemblo, and Navaluenga have been ordered to stay indoors. In addition, 1,500 people were evacuated from a rural tourism complex and a housing development in El Tiemblo due to the rapid advance of the flames, El País reported.

The largest fire is in the province of Guadalajara, about 100 kilometres north of Madrid, and has devastated 32,000 hectares (80,000 acres) since last Thursday.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X that "the government has deployed every available resource to stop the terrible fires," urging the public to exercise "great caution" and heed authorities' instructions.

According to the European Forest Fire Information System, almost 125,000 hectares (309,000 acres) have already burnt in Spain this year, compared with 393,000 for the whole of last year.

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