Two more dead as Spanish troops battle blazes

Spain has sent 500 more troops to fight raging wildfires, bringing the total deployed to 1,900, as the death toll from the blazes has risen to four.

On Sunday, a firefighter died after an accident during firefighting efforts when his truck fell down a steep hill, the Castile and León regional government said.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed “sadness” and “desolation” on X at the latest death.

In neighbouring Portugal, where fires are also blazing, another firefighter was killed on Sunday in a “tragic” traffic accident, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said.

Fires have also broken out in Greece, France, Turkey and the Balkans as a heatwave has scorched swathes of southern Europe.

Several large fires are still burning in the northwest and west of Spain, where 27,000 residents are currently evacuated from their homes.

Castile and León is the most affected area, with local media station Radio 5 reporting on Monday that the air is “unbreathable” due to the smoke.

A fire in the western province of Cáceres is also still out of control and has burned 11,000 hectares (27,181 acres).

Twelve fires are burning in the north-west region of Galicia, most in the province of Ourense, with the largest having burned 17,500 hectares.

Fires on Sunday left at least five people injured in Castile and León, with four of them in critical condition.

Last week, two volunteers died fighting fires in Leon. Another man died in Tres Cantos, near Madrid, after a fire broke out.

This year alone, about 343,000 hectares have burned across Spain, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) – close to double the amount from the previous year.

Over the weekend, Spain’s Civil Guard said they have proposed “sanctions” on four people for carrying out unauthorised burns in A Coruña in the Galicia region.

Causing a wildfire is a criminal offence in Spain, even if accidental.

Neighbouring Portugal has also had to contend with wildfires since late July, with the north and centre of the country hit the hardest.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa conveyed his “deepest sympathies” to the bereaved family of the firefighter killed in an accident on Sunday. Two other firefighters were also injured.

In 2025, the EFFIS reported that Portugal’s wildfires had burned about 216,000 hectares of land.

Spain and Portugal have activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism, under which countries can request emergency assistance.

Firefighters from other countries have been sent to fight the fires in Spain, and both countries will be receiving two fire-fighting planes.

Wildfires are a common occurrence across southern Europe in the summer, but their severity can often be exacerbated by heatwave conditions.

Meteorologists say such extremes are becoming more frequent and intense due to human-induced climate change.

Climate change is causing weather to become harsher, according to research from Spain’s state meteorological agency.