It has not been so bad for 50 years. Spain is measured not only with a tourist disaster
Jesus Pacios, 48 years old, stands in front of his house in a head, in the Spanish wine region Valdeorras, and looks at the charred slopes of the landscape. – It was not a fire disaster, it was hell He says in a hoarse voice. For four days and nights he fought fire with a garden hose.
Pacios and his neighbors experienced what the Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska called the fire of “sixth generation”. The sea of flames, which liberated such a huge amount of heat that the upper layers of the atmosphere changed, storms arose and new fires broke out.
The autonomous communities of Castile and Leon as well as Galicia in the northwestern part of the country, Asturia in the north and estreadura in the West are particularly affected. These are mainly poorly populated areas. As a result of a fire disaster, four people were killed, including a 57-year-old firefighter from Ourens. The man died when his vehicle fell on a steep forest road near the town of Espinoso de compludo during an evacuation operation.
Over 33 thousand people had to leave their homes. Damage to agriculture and cattle farming is estimated at least at least EUR 600 million (PLN 2.5 billion). The fact that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, despite the catastrophic situation, spent a vacation on the beach on Lanzarote, did not have a positive effect on the mood. It was only after a huge criticism of public opinion and political pressure on 17 August that he interrupted the journey to visit the area affected by fire. Then he returned to the island.
– Politicians in Spain only live to save their own ass – says Jesus Pacios bluntly. His criticism, however, does not apply only to the prime minister and his care for the image through public speaking in places of the disaster. He also criticizes strict evacuation means. Although the motive of these activities is a noble desire to save lives, they also lead to burning houses that their owners could save themselves with the help of garden hosts. “It's my home, so I should decide about it,” says Pacios.
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Drastic penalties threaten for refusing evacuation. However, cases such as the one from Abejer, a village in the province of Zamora, show that funds that are often seen as excessive care may make sense. Six residents had serious burns there, remaining in place despite the calls of the police to defend their property.
Many causes of the disaster
How did such catastrophic fires occur that led to despair of so many people? She played an important role drought Caused by the third longest wave of heat over the past 50 years – with temperatures reaching 40–44 degrees C., persisting for 16 days.
However, the growing and long -lasting heat caused by climate change are only a dramatic strengthening of a fire disaster that has various causes. Niepodly -thrown cigarettes play the same role as defective agricultural machinery. Added to this is changing agriculture.
“Once everyone had cows and sheep, they cultivated the land,” says Pacios. – There were tidy pastures and arable fields between the forests. Now the fire only finds the thickets.
Demographic changes that Spain undergoes, mass depopulation of rural areas – all this has a decisive impact on the development of the landscape. The village where Jesus Pacios lives only has 40 inhabitants. Currently 85 percent The population of Spain focuses on less than 20 percent. territory – In cities and their suburbs. Abandoned rural areas fall into ruin. Raw protective measures deepen the problem. “We have Serra Da Encina's natural park, in which nothing is allowed to touch,” says Pacios. Whoever comes up with the idea to remove piles of dry wood must take into account the mandate.
“Nature protection is often confused with neglect of nature,” says Federico Grillo, fire protection expert and spokesman Colegio Oficial de Ingenos Tecnicos Forestales, the College of Forest Technology in Madrid. – However, well -groomed landscapes are burning less intensively – he adds. Negligence led to the creation of “highways for fire”, i.e. continuous, flammable vegetation without natural barriers.
Destruction around Ourense, Spain, August 20, 2025.Felipe Carnotto / AFP
“Money is”
Marc Castellnou, chief inspector of the Catalan special unit for forests of Graf forests (group de recolzament d'ACTuacions forestals), warns against new ecological changes. – The forests we currently have will change. To survive, they will have to rise higher to the mountains, and their place will be taken by other forms of vegetation – he says. These will be plants that can speed up the spread of fire under drought.
Since 2009, funds intended for preventing fire in Spain have been reduced by more than half. This does not mean, however, that there is a lack of money: in recent years only 80 percent have been spent. the budget allocated for this purpose – approx. EUR 100 million (PLN 426 million) remained unused. The consequence of savings is a rapid increase in fire extinguishing costs. According to the unanimous opinion of fire protection experts, each euro invested in prevention can save around 10 euros (about 4.2 PLN) on extinguishing costs. “This leads to despair,” says an experienced fire protection coordinator who wants to remain anonymous.
Money is, but bureaucracy prevents them from being used. And we face burning forests and we have miracles.
According to the police, he stands behind most fires arson. From June, 27 suspects have been arrested, and over 80 other people are under investigation. They incline to arson, among others criminal nature and mental disorders. But difficult life situation It also makes people become arsonists.
He gained publicity, among others The case of the forester, who confessed to the intentional arson of 2,000. Ha of the forest in Avila to ensure work on firefighting. A fireman was arrested in Zamora, who set fire to the forests. Many firefighters are agricultural workers who can also earn money in the fire brigades in the summer. – More fires mean more actions, and more action means more work – says the fireman who also wants to remain anonymous. – It's sick, but some are so desperate.
Mess
This week, nine large fires were also fought in Portugal, 3,200 took action. people. Three died. Also in this case, the police suspect that the fires were caused intentionally. Arsonists become more and more sophisticated, use electronic time fuse and deliberately choose “favorable” weather conditions. A few days ago in the Portuguese Algarve, near Odiaxere, two fires broke out exactly when strong winds broke. Case?
Spain recently experienced one of the worst waves of forest fires in the history of the country since the beginning of the statistics in 1968 in the town of Molezuelas de la Carballed in the northwestern part of the country, 39,000 were burning. 714 ha, 4,813 people were evacuated and two firefighters were killed during a rescue operation. Las Medulas place inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List suffered irreversible damage. High speed trains between Madrid and Galicia did not run for six days, and highway 52 was completely closed.
The scale of fires in Spain, August 20, 2025.Samuel de Roman / AFP
Jesus Pacios will never forget how the fire has approached the houses in his village for a few meters. – Fortunately, there was Ume there [Unidad Militar de Emergencias, hiszpańska wojskowa jednostka ratownicza]. They organized neighbors, started extinguishing and let us pull snakes – he says.
And yet they already exist much more modern means to master hell. At specialized events, such as the InteSchutz Fair, engineers present visions of digital fire fighting: drones dropping aerosol clouds. They are five to 10 times more effective than traditional air methods.
Spanish firefighters, on the other hand, fight with flames with the help of fireproof backpacks with a capacity of 20 li blades to fire. Aircraft still use the technology from the 70s. Federico Grillo fire protection expert talks about “chaotic mess” in firefighting.
Help with the EU
In the current crisis The Spanish government asked for international help on Sunday as part of EU people's protection. 67 members of the special forces from North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony came to help with 23 fire trucks and supports Spanish colleagues in the Estremadura region.
Other European countries support Spain with helicopters and fire aircraft. The Coordinator of Population Protection responsible for cooperation with foreign teams, Julio Francisco Gonzalez Orozco, publicly expressed his gratitude.
In addition to help from other EU countries, the situation improved the situation at the end of the week cooler weather and rainfall. “The situation is now more favorable,” said on Thursday on the state television Tve Virginia Barcones, general director of the Spanish civil defense. There are 21 larger fires in the northwestern and western part of the country. However, recently, fire has been significantly prevented. In recent days, the situation has also improved in Portugal.
After fires, there is more than burned earth: The flames expose the systemwhich invests a lot in the modernization of cities, but neglects rural regions so much that their inhabitants not only feel left by themselves, but are also more and more exposed to fires. However, there are new ideas for the fight against forest fires. Sometimes they are very simple.
For example, a herd of goats, which are increasingly used to graze dry grass to prevent the spread of fire. People affected by fires, such as Jesus Pacios, are grateful for every step that protects them and their property from flames.
