Over 115,000 people have been evacuated or told to stay indoors due to wildfires in the autonomous community of Madrid and the provinces of Ávila and Castellón, according to the EFE news agency.
“More than 115,000 individuals have so far been evacuated or instructed not to leave their homes because of the forest fires,” the report states.
The agency says that around 100,000 of those affected are in the areas of Madrid and Ávila, where the flames have scorched over 45,000 hectares. Another 15,000 or so have been impacted by the fire in Castellón province, which has a perimeter stretching 21 kilometers.
The fires in Madrid and Ávila are advancing toward the province of Toledo, prompting authorities to extend a state of emergency of national significance to that region.
On Saturday, a man died in a fire that broke out in a ravine in Valencia province.
Some 176 specialists from Portugal, Greece, and Italy are helping to fight the largest blazes, along with 41 pieces of ground equipment and four Canadair aircraft. Portugal has contributed 129 firefighters and 41 vehicles.
Conditions have improved in other parts of Spain. After the fires were brought under control, residents of several towns in the provinces of Córdoba, Granada, and Barcelona were allowed to return home or had their stay-at-home orders lifted.
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