Javier García, a Spanish firefighter, stated he has never encountered anything comparable to the record blaze currently affecting woodlands and rural communities near Madrid during his two decades of service.
“This doesn’t have a precedent,” García told The Associated Press via phone before anticipating another long day ahead.
The uncontrolled fire has burned 500 square kilometers (193 square miles)—an area five times the size of Barcelona—and has compelled 25,000 people to evacuate villages in the smoldering hills of Ávila, west of the capital city.
The intensity of Spain’s largest recorded wildfire is necessitating a fundamental shift in firefighting tactics, prioritizing evacuations and property protection due to the danger presented by fast-moving walls of flames and blazes too powerful for direct attack.
“The evolution is alarming,” García commented.
Previously, his brigade would engage fires in wilderness areas. Now, they function as a final line of defense, concentrating on saving lives. No fatalities have been reported from these fires; however, 79,000 people have fled their homes due to the Ávila fire, alongside other incidents in the Madrid region and eastern Castellón.
“That gives us more work and more stress,” García stated. “Now it is lives first, then homes, and after, the forest.”
### Climate Change Fuels Fires
García works with one of Spain’s emergency wildfire brigades, which assists regional firefighters when they require support. These teams conduct 12-hour shifts extinguishing burning trees and clearing underbrush before it can fuel the flames.
His unit of 40 members, based in Ávila, has been engaged with the Ávila fire for three days. Prior to this, they were involved in fighting fires in Guadalajara and near Zaragoza in recent weeks. The Guadalajara fire consumed 320 square kilometers (123 square miles), making it Spain’s third largest on record.
“Until last year, I had never experienced fighting one big fire after another,” said the 43-year-old García.
Large sections of Spain have historically been susceptible to fires due to its hot summers and relatively dry climate. However, experts and government officials indicate that climate change has increased the frequency of heat waves and drought periods, thereby extending high-risk windows for wildfires.
Once ignited, these fires expand with a speed and intensity rarely observed before.
García noted that there used to be approximately 15 days of extreme fire risk annually; currently, firefighters remain on alert for 30 to 40 days.
Fires have burned 1,530 square kilometers (590 square miles) in Spain this year—six times the area scorched by blazes in the first half of 2025, according to ecology minister Sara Aagesen.
Concurrently, a major fire in neighboring France has forced over 200,000 people from their residences.
### Fires Too Powerful for Direct Confrontation
Raúl Guerrero, 29, has served as a firefighter in Castilla y León, the region encompassing Ávila, for the last decade. He stated this current fire cannot be compared to any he has battled previously.
He informed the AP that his 40-man unit was forced to retreat to safer ground on multiple occasions when the risk of being trapped became immediate.
Guerrero described the fire at certain points as “beyond the capacity of extinction,” which, in his view, means “the fire is so virulent and has such power that no matter what you do, you can’t put it out.”
When asked about how this situation affects him, Guerrero responded, “above all, impotent.”
### Vegetation Can Become ‘Pure Gunpowder’
While fires are often initiated by lighting or sparks from agricultural machinery, a critical factor complicating wildfire control is the decline of farms, orchards, and local forestry industries that once provided buffer zones around towns and villages.
Vegetation now grows directly adjacent to homes, Guerrero observed. He urged property owners and local authorities to dedicate year-round efforts to clearing brush away from residences and maintaining forests.
Otherwise, Guerrero warned, this vegetation will remain “pure gunpowder” for future fires.