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MADRID — Wildfires burning near Madrid remained uncontained and out of control early Friday, with the smell of smoke drifting into parts of the Spanish capital and strong winds expected to hamper firefighting efforts, regional authorities said.
The overnight advance of the fires was limited, but weather conditions were expected to complicate efforts to bring the blazes -- less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Madrid -- under control.
The main priority for firefighters tackling wildfires raging in villages around Madrid is to prevent the "convergence" of the blazes, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters on Friday.
The authorities were dealing with an "unfavourable situation" due to strong wind gusts of more than 50 kilometres (30 miles) per hour, low humidity and high temperatures, he added during a visit to the emergency command centre in the village of Cenicientos.
Spain's government declared a national emergency in the Madrid region and the neighbouring province of Avila late Thursday, enabling additional resources to be deployed more quickly and placing the Military Emergency Unit (UME) in charge of coordinating the response.
Officials have issued evacuation orders for around 10,000 people in the Madrid region, where some in the city woke up to the smell of smoke, according to residents.
Several municipalities remained under confinement orders on Friday.
More than 430 elderly people and people with disabilities from five care homes were among the evacuated, the regional government of Madrid said in a statement.
Television images showed Guardia Civil police officers wearing face masks helping elderly residents in wheelchairs board buses as care homes were evacuated.
The largest evacuation operation took place in San Martín de Valdeiglesias, with most of the 178 residents at the private Lopez Rumayor care home evacuated to the municipal sports hall.
‘Couldn't breathe'
Jose Cobos, who fled his home in Navas del Rey some 50 kilometres southwest of Madrid along with his wife and three dogs, said he spent the night at his sister's anxiously awaiting news on the fate of their house.
"The smoke was incredibly thick. You couldn't breathe," he told private TV station Antena 3.
More than 270 firefighters and military personnel were deployed to tackle the blazes, according to the authorities.
Spain has seen a series of wildfires in recent days as a heatwave and dry conditions have heightened the risk of fast-moving fires, particularly in scrubland areas where dry vegetation has fuelled the flames.
The country's largest active wildfire is burning in the province of Guadalajara, around 100 kilometres north of Madrid, where it has scorched about 32,000 hectares over the past week.
"We are living through a dramatic situation, not only in various Spanish provinces but also in regions of neighbouring countries," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X, saying the government "has deployed all available resources".
Nearly 130,000 hectares have burnt across Spain-- an area larger than the sprawling US city of Los Angeles -- since the start of the year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).
Spain recorded its worst wildfire season in recent history in 2025, when more than 393,000 hectares were destroyed by fire, according to EFFIS.
