Wildfires continue to devastate western Spain, with an additional 300,000 stremmas (roughly 30,000 hectares) destroyed in just 24 hours, according to new satellite data released by the European Copernicus observatory.
In total, about 3.73 million stremmas have burned across Spain since the start of the year, making 2025 the country’s worst wildfire season on record since the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) began collecting data in 2006. The previous record, set in 2022, stood at 3.06 million stremmas.
Regions Most Affected
The largest blazes have been raging for around ten days in Zamora and Castile and León in northwestern Spain, as well as Ourense in Galicia and Cáceres in Extremadura in the west. Thousands of residents have been evacuated from dozens of villages, major roads have been cut off, and train services between Madrid and Galicia were suspended.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to visit the affected regions of Zamora and Cáceres today to assess the damage and meet with local authorities.
Weather Brings Hope
Although firefighting efforts will take time, the end of the 16-day heatwave on Monday has raised hopes of progress. The government’s representative in Castile and León, Nicanor Sen, told state broadcaster TVE that a drop of 10–12 degrees Celsius in maximum temperatures, combined with higher humidity, will improve conditions for firefighters.
“This will facilitate and improve the chances of bringing these wildfires under control,” Sen said.
Source: Tovima.com
