Record Spanish wildfires close part of Camino de Santiago route

PALACIOS DE JAMUZ, Spain - Spain’s worst wave of wildfires on record spread to the southern slopes of the Picos de Europa mountains on Aug 18 and prompted authorities to close part of the popular Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route.

“This is a fire situation we haven’t experienced in 20 years,” Defence Minister Margarita Robles told radio station Cadena SER. “The fires have special characteristics as a result of climate change and this huge heatwave.”

She said thick smoke was affecting the work of water-carrying helicopters and aircraft.

The heatwave spanning 16 days is the third-longest on record and sent temperatures up to 45 deg C over the weekend, according to state weather agency Aemet. It is expected to start easing on Aug 18 or 19.

The Spanish army has deployed 1,900 troops to help firefighters.

Highways and rail services have also been cut in the area.

The Camino de Santiago hiking route is an ancient pilgrimage path trodden by thousands in the summer.

It links France and the city of Santiago de Compostela on the western tip of Spain, where the remains of the apostle St James are said to be buried.

The authorities in the Castile and Leon region have closed the path in the area between the towns of Astorga and Ponferrada, which are about 50km apart, and told hikers “not to put (their) lives in danger”.

A firefighter died when his truck crashed on a forest path near the village of Espinoso de Compludo. Four firefighters have died so far.

The interior ministry says 27 people have been arrested and 92 are under investigation for suspected arson since June.

Southern Europe is experiencing one of its worst wildfire seasons in two decades, with Spain among the hardest-hit countries.

So far in 2025, an estimated 344,400ha have burned in Spain - an area equivalent to the size of the island of Mallorca - according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

It’s the largest area on records that go back to 2006 and more than four times the 2006-2024 average.

In Portugal, wildfires have burnt 155,000ha so far in 2025, according to the ICNF forestry protection institute – three times the average for this period between 2006 to 2024. About half of that area burned in the past three days.

Ms Robles said things are not likely to improve until the heatwave, which has seen temperatures hit 45 deg C, starts easing on the evening of Aug 18 or Aug 19.

The heatwave is the third hottest since 1975, when the national weather agency started tracking them. Most of the country is subject to wildfire warnings.

Terrible thing

Mr Patrice Lepettre, a 75-year-old pilgrim in Astorga, told Reuters the inconvenience for hikers was temporary and could not be compared to the locals’ plight.

“It’s a terrible thing for the population. The pilgrims can go back home and come another year to finish the Camino, but for the people who live here, it’s a terrible thing,” he said.

Leaders of regions run by the main opposition People’s Party (PP) have criticised the central government for poor planning and asked for more resources to fight the wildfires.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Aug 17 urged a “state pact” on climate change with all main political forces, which was dismissed as a “diversion” by PP spokesperson Ester Munoz on Aug 18.

The Interior ministry said 27 people have been arrested and 92 were under investigation for suspected arson since June.

In Palacios de Jamuz in the northern region of Castile and Leon, where a wildfire had burned down whole rows of houses, Ms Delia Lobato was inspecting the damage and lamented the deaths of people and trees.

“Such young people who had their whole lives ahead and who are gone, that’s the hardest thing,” she said.

“We will plant again, and if I don’t see it grow well my children will.” REUTERS