The choice so as to add to the greater than 1,400 troops already on wildfire responsibility got here as authorities struggled to comprise forest blazes, particularly within the northwestern Galicia area, and awaited the arrival of promised plane reinforcements from different European international locations.
Firefighters are tackling 12 main wildfires in Galicia, all of them close to the town of Ourense, the top of the Galician regional authorities Alfonso Rueda advised a press convention with Mr. Sánchez.
“Homes are nonetheless beneath menace so we’ve got lockdowns in place and are finishing up evacuations,” Mr. Rueda mentioned. Galicia has been battling the spreading flames for greater than every week.
Temperatures in Spain may attain 45 Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in some areas on Sunday, the Spanish nationwide climate company AEMET mentioned. On Saturday (August 16, 2025), the utmost temperature was 44.7 C (112.46 F) within the southern metropolis of Cordoba, it mentioned.
“This Sunday, when terribly excessive temperatures are anticipated, the hazard of wildfires is excessive in a lot of the nation,” AEMET mentioned on the social platform X.
The fires in Spain this yr have burned 158,000 hectares (390,000 acres), in keeping with the European Union’s European Forest Fire Information System. That is an space roughly as huge as metropolitan London.
Europe has been warming twice as quick as the worldwide common for the reason that Eighties, in keeping with the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Scientists say that local weather change is exacerbating the frequency and depth of warmth and dryness in components of Europe, making the area extra weak to wildfires.
Spain awaits European firefighters, extra planes
Spain was anticipating the arrival of two Dutch water-dumping planes that had been to affix plane from France and Italy already serving to Spanish authorities beneath a European cooperation settlement.
Firefighters from different international locations are additionally anticipated to reach within the area in coming days, Spain’s Civil Protection Agency chief Virginia Barcones advised public broadcaster RTVE.
National rail operator Renfe mentioned it suspended Madrid-Galicia high-speed prepare companies scheduled for Sunday as a result of fires.
Galician authorities suggested folks to put on face masks and restrict their time spent outdoor to keep away from inhaling smoke and ash.
Portugal heads into cooler days
Portugal is ready for cooler climate in coming days after a spate of extreme woodland fires. A nationwide state of alert on account of wildfires was enacted Aug. 2 and was on account of finish on Sunday, a day earlier than two Swedish firefighting planes had been to reach.
As in Spain, Portugal’s assets have been stretched. On Sunday, greater than 4,000 firefighters and greater than 1,300 automobiles had been deployed, in addition to 17 plane, the nation’s Civil Protection Agency mentioned.
The scorched space of forest in Portugal to date this yr is 17 instances greater than in 2024, at round 139,000 hectares, in keeping with preliminary calculations by the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests, a authorities physique.
Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania have additionally requested assist from the EU’s firefighting drive in current days to cope with forest fires. The drive has already been activated as many instances this yr as in all of final yr’s summer season fireplace season.
Turkish fires threaten space of Gallipoli memorials
In Turkey, the place current wildfires have killed 19 folks, components of the historic area that features memorials to World War I’s Gallipoli marketing campaign had been evacuated Sunday as blazes threatened houses within the nation’s northwest.
Six villages had been evacuated as a precautionary measure, the governor of Canakkale province, Omer Toraman, mentioned.
Some 1,300 firefighting personnel backed by 30 plane had been battling the blaze, in keeping with the General Directorate of Forestry.
A wildfire on the peninsula to the north of the Dardanelles Strait led to the closure of customer services at Gallipoli, the location’s administration mentioned. The space is dotted with cemeteries, memorials and different remnants of battles waged between Ottoman and Allied troops in 1915.
Turkey has been struck by lots of of fires since late June, fueled by record-breaking temperatures, dry situations and powerful winds.
