Spain has declared a state of emergency in 16 of its 17 regions this summer amid crippling wildfires
Spain has been struggling with wildfires(Image: Mario Marco via Getty Images)
Spain has been forced to announce “disaster” status with British holidaymakers in 121 locations put on alert. Spain has proclaimed a state of emergency across 16 of its 17 regions this summer as devastating wildfires take hold.
This August, Spain endured one of its most catastrophic wildfire seasons in living memory, with more than 360,000 hectares of terrain ravaged nationwide. From this figure, roughly 35,400 hectares of farming land were obliterated, encompassing crop fields, fruit groves, and wine estates.
Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska stated: “Although the emergency episode is not over, it is clear that we are facing one of the biggest environmental catastrophes in recent years. The personal damage to infrastructure and public and private property is undoubtedly high”, reports Birmingham Live.
He emphasised the crucial need to trigger the support mechanism for victims “as soon as possible so that they can recover a certain degree of normality”. The minister also cautioned that the fire crisis “has not yet been considered closed”.
“These institutions will have their government by their side at all times and will have all the aid necessary to achieve the greatest possible recovery of the areas affected by the disaster,” he said.
In addition to the EU appeal, the Spanish administration has introduced measures to deliver immediate assistance to those impacted.
The European Commission sanctioned advance payments of up to 80% of CAP subsidies for farmers and livestock owners hit by the wildfires. In a statement shared on social media platform X, Protección Civil confirmed that fire risk across the Iberian Peninsula remains at “extreme” or “very high” levels.
“The fire danger #IIFF continues to be EXTREME or VERY HIGH in the peninsula,” it stated. The director general of civil protection announced today that she believes the conclusion of this ordeal is approaching and indicated that the 24-hour period spanning Thursday to Friday “can be definitive”.
Virginia Barcones is confident that if emergency resources are deployed effectively then “this tragic episode can be definitively settled”. This is the crucial moment, she emphasised, to secure the progress made to ensure “there is no turning back”.