A group of people observes the smoke from the Burgohondo fire (Ávila) from the port of Navalmoral. The two large forest fires devastating the bordering provinces of Madrid and Ávila, in the center of Spain, have burned some 25,000 hectares so far, favored by atmospheric conditions, and have forced the evacuation of 73,000 people from numerous municipalities. : Spain: 73,000 Evacuees and 25,000 Hectares of Forest BurnedThe President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced this Saturday that the two uncontrolled and close fires will be managed as a single one, so that the command of the national emergency declared in the area will be unified. The chief general of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), Francisco Javier Marcos, justified the decision to jointly manage the fires and “gain time” in a critical situation of thousands of burned hectares. So far in 2026, Sánchez pointed out, 130,000 hectares have already been burned by fires in Spain, 5,000 of them today, which is why he insisted on the need for a state pact against the climate emergency.