The Guardia Civil is investigating the origin of the wildfire near Las Peñas de Riglos (Huesca province) and examining a possible connection with work on the regional road A-132 near Santa María de la Peña. The cause has not been officially confirmed. According to consistent reports in regional media, initial internal assessments place the suspected point of origin in a roadworks area; according to Heraldo de Aragón, cited by elDiario.es, camera footage is said to indicate the starting point was in this area. The Guardia Civil's environmental unit SEPRONA is continuing its investigation.
The fire broke out on Monday, 10 August 2026, and is still active. According to the Gobierno de Aragón on Wednesday morning, the fire has affected around 5,000 hectares. The situation had improved compared with the previous day, it said; overnight, emergency crews consolidated two sectors on the left flank and used the A-132 as a containment line. At one point, there was concern about the fire advancing towards San Juan de la Peña. The regional government's vice-president, Mar Vaquero, said she was cautiously optimistic about the further firefighting efforts, but warned that the situation remained complex.
Before the fire, residents, several town councils and tourism businesses had protested against a planned full closure of the A-132. They cited risks to access to small settlements and possible delays to evacuations and emergency responses in the event of a fire. The possible link now under investigation between the ongoing roadworks and the start of the fire has given these objections added significance. The regional government stresses that no conclusions about the cause will be drawn while the Guardia Civil's forensic investigations are ongoing.
What is established is that the fire has affected a large area of woodland and scrub around Las Peñas de Riglos; emergency crews are stabilising sections of the fire line and are also using infrastructure barriers such as the A-132. Attributed claim: media report that the suspected point of origin was in a roadworks area near Santa María de la Peña; official sources have not confirmed this so far. Next steps: the SEPRONA investigation is expected to establish whether roadworks played a role and whether this has implications for the organisation of the works and future traffic measures.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).