Spain recorded according to the European Forest Fire Information System’s interim figures EFFIS around 296,815 hectares of land burned since the start of the year as of 17 September 2026. This represents 44.4 per cent of the total area recorded in the European Union, 668,035 hectares. EFFIS data also show 446 forest fires in Spain, placing the country behind Italy with 605 fires and ahead of France with 364. The increase has slowed in September: 973 hectares were added since 2 September, and 313 since 9 September.
Estimates from Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition (MITECO) are lower. MITECO puts the provisional area burned over the same period at 272,436 hectares. The two figures are not directly comparable: EFFIS uses satellite-based remote-sensing products and minimum thresholds to record larger fire areas. MITECO relies on reports from the autonomous communities and on-the-ground assessments, and uses different boundaries and classifications. These methodological differences explain the recurring discrepancies between the sources.
In the longer-term comparison, this year’s toll is unusually high. The average area burned in Spain between 2006 and 2025 was 87,212.8 hectares per year, putting the current figure well above that level. EFFIS also notes that very small fires may fall below the detection threshold and that the algorithms vary according to vegetation type. MITECO continually updates its administrative data; final national figures are only confirmed once field assessments have been completed.
Spain’s heavy impact in the EU statistics is fuelling political debate about prevention, forest and landscape management, and the resources available for firefighting. In the affected regions, alongside immediate damage to forest ecosystems and infrastructure, there are also medium- and long-term consequences for forestry and agricultural businesses and biodiversity. While EFFIS estimates provide an early, consistent Europe-wide picture of the areas affected, national administrative data provide the basis for operational decisions and compensation claims.
As the fire season is still under way in parts of the country in September, the figures are subject to revision. However, combining satellite-based EFFIS assessments with MITECO’s administrative data gives a more robust picture of the scale and regional distribution of fires in Spain in 2026.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).