Southern Spain wildfire worsens as wind gusts hamper firefighting efforts
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Smoke rising from scorched ground as a wildfire swept through a pine forest in Huelva, in Spain. Hot and windy weather is fuelling the blazes raging across the country.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- A large wildfire in south-western Spain near Niebla is worsening due to wind gusts and rugged terrain, affecting nearly 20,000ha and forcing about 500 evacuations.
- Spain faces a severe wildfire season in 2026, with over 244,000ha burnt in 400 fires, six times more than in 2025.
- Other active fires in Segovia and Castellon have prompted evacuations, but recent humidity and favourable weather have improved containment efforts in those areas.
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MADRID – A large wildfire in south-western Spain was burning beyond firefighters’ ability to extinguish it on Aug 10, as hot and windy weather fuelled other blazes raging across the country.
With consecutive heatwaves scorching much of Europe, Spain is facing a devastating summer wildfire season, with over 244,000ha of countryside burnt in 400 fires so far in 2026, according to estimates by the European Forest Fire Information System.
That is an area six times larger than at the same time in 2025, while across Europe, record heat and droughts this summer – which scientists say are exacerbated by global warming – have wreaked havoc on power production, shipping and public health systems.
Andalusia’s regional head of emergencies, Antonio Sanz, told reporters that extinguishing the fire in the south-west of the country around the mediaeval town of Niebla was akin to a “long-distance obstacle race” and was expected to last several days.
It has already affected a surface of nearly 20,000ha.
He added that the combination of wind gusts, the area’s rugged terrain, and convective phenomena creating fire clouds was spreading flying embers in all directions, causing secondary fires to break out.
Nearly 500 people have been evacuated from the area while further precautionary measures were being assessed, Sanz said.
Other wildfires remained active in the central province of Segovia and Castellon in the east.
In Segovia, a fire that started on Aug 8 when a vehicle ignited on a motorway forced 176 inhabitants of two towns to leave their homes as it rapidly spread across surrounding pastures.
Local authorities said on Aug 10 the situation was improving after humidity increased overnight, but the large number of trees dotting the granite-strewn landscape could complicate firefighting efforts.
Another fire in Castellon’s Tirig that has so far burnt around 800ha and prompted the evacuation of 900 people was still active but close to being stabilised after “very favourable” weather overnight, according to the regional government of Valencia. REUTERS
