Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Sunday that Spain is sending an additional 500 troops to fight flames that have ripped across arid forests during an extended period of intense heat.
As officials battled to suppress forest fires, particularly in the northwest Galicia region, and awaited the arrival of promised aircraft reinforcements from other European nations, they decided to augment the more than 1,400 personnel already on wildfire duty.
Alfonso Rueda, the president of the Galician regional administration, informed Sánchez during a press conference that firefighters are battling 12 large wildfires in Galicia, all of which are close to the city of Ourense.
“Homes are still under threat so we have lockdowns in place and are carrying out evacuations,” Rueda said. Galicia has been battling the spreading flames for more than a week.
Temperatures in Spain could reach 45 Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in some areas Sunday, the Spanish national weather agency AEMET said. On Saturday, the maximum temperature was 44.7 C (112.46 F) in the southern city of Cordoba, it said.
“This Sunday, when extraordinarily high temperatures are expected, the danger of wildfires is extreme in most of the country,” AEMET said on the social platform X.
The European Forest Fire Information System of the European Union reports that 158,000 hectares (390,000 acres) had been burnt by fires in Spain this year. That's around the size of metropolitan London.
Since the 1980s, Europe has warmed twice as quickly as the rest of the world, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. According to scientists, climate change is making portions of Europe more susceptible to wildfires by increasing the frequency and severity of heat waves and dry spells.
Spain awaits additional flights and European firemen. Under a European cooperation agreement, Spain was anticipating the arrival of two Dutch water-dumping planes to join those already assisting Spanish authorities from France and Italy.
International firefighters are also anticipated to arrive in the area that's around the size of metropolitan London. Since the 1980s, Europe has warmed twice as quickly as the rest of the world, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Due to the fires, national rail operator Renfe announced that it has cancelled Sunday's high-speed train service between Madrid and Galicia. To prevent breathing in smoke and ash, Galician authorities recommended using face masks and limiting outside time.
Cooler days are ahead for Portugal. Following a wave of intense forest fires, Portugal is expected to have milder temperatures in the days ahead. In response to wildfires, a nationwide state of alert was declared on Aug. 2 and was scheduled to expire on Sunday, the day before two Swedish firefighting aircraft were scheduled to arrive.
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Portugal's resources have been overextended, just like those of Spain. According to the nation's Civil Protection Agency, more than 1,300 vehicles, 4,000 firefighters, and 17 aircraft were deployed on Sunday.
The scorched area of forest in Portugal so far this year is 17 times higher than in 2024, at around 139,000 hectares, according to preliminary calculations by the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests, a government body.
Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania have also requested help from the EU's firefighting force in recent days to deal with forest fires. The force has already been activated as many times this year as in all of last year's summer fire season.
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Turkish fires threaten area of Gallipoli memorials. In Turkey, where recent wildfires have killed 19 people, parts of the historic region that includes memorials to World War I's Gallipoli campaign were evacuated Sunday as blazes threatened homes in the country's northwest. Six villages were evacuated as a precautionary measure, the governor of Canakkale province, Omer Toraman, said. Some 1,300 firefighting personnel backed by 30 aircraft were battling the blaze, according to the General Directorate of Forestry.
A wildfire on the peninsula to the north of the Dardanelles Strait led to the closure of visitor facilities at Gallipoli, the site's management said. The area is dotted with cemeteries, memorials and other remnants of battles waged between Ottoman and Allied troops in 1915.
Turkey has been struck by hundreds of fires since late June, fuelled by record-breaking temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds.
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