The Spanish government has extended the nationwide campaign to prevent and fight forest fires in 2026 until 31 October 2026 The Centro de Coordinación Operativa Integrado (CECOD) made the decision at a meeting of the Secretaría General de Protección Civil y Emergencias on 29 September. The measure is justified by persistently high danger levels resulting from extreme temperatures, prolonged drought and complex operational conditions. The situation will be kept under review; a return to normal operations will only be considered once the general risk has fallen significantly.
The State Meteorological Agency AEMET had already forecast high temperatures and low rainfall; according to the Ministry of the Interior, these forecasts have been borne out. Official figures show that 8,122 forest fires were recorded between 1 January 2026 and the present; the area affected was 275,209 hectares, around 151 per cent above the ten-year average. The crisis was concentrated in several major episodes: so far, 45 fires have been classified as large forest fires (GIF), affecting around 221,000 hectares and accounting for just under 80 per cent of the total area.
For the first time, this summer saw the Situación Operativa 3 declared for forest fires; a national emergency was declared on 23 July. Virginia Barcones, the secretary-general for Protección Civil y Emergencias, chaired CECOD and highlighted the challenges of coordination and operational management. Extensive state resources were mobilised in response to the situation, including deployments by the Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME) with around 1,300 personnel, as well as dozens of air and ground units from state and international contingents.
The CECOD report also records the human impact: 63,152 people were evacuated, 35,073 people were temporarily unable to leave their towns, and 6,418 people needed temporary accommodation. Overall, the government reports 21 deaths caused by fires and 70 injuries. The authorities continue to stress prevention, early detection and rapid initial attack as key measures, and say the campaign will end depending on weather conditions and how the situation develops.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).