Spain has declared a national emergency and evacuated more than 10,000 people after uncontrolled wildfires reached the outskirts of Madrid. Emergency crews have rescued residents as multiple blazes continue to spread across the region.
Emergency crews have been rescuing residents as the blaze spread between the neighbourhoods of Almorox and Villa del Prado on the south-western edge of the Spanish capital.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska declared a national emergency after regional authorities were unable to extinguish three wildfires spreading simultaneously near Madrid.
Two fires are burning in Villa del Prado, while a third is affecting the town of San Martín de Valdeiglesias, west of the Spanish capital.
Grande-Marlaska's decision to declare the fires a Level 3 emergency means the central government will now take control of the response. Spain has only activated this level of emergency once before, during the nationwide blackout in 2025.
More than 10,000 people have been evacuated from the municipalities of Villa del Prado, San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Pelayos de la Presa and Aldea del Fresno, all within the wider Madrid region.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described the situation as "dramatic" in a statement on X.
"The government has deployed all available resources. It will stand by your side during the emergency and in the recovery," he added.
The Spanish government's Madrid office said the fires remained "out of control", adding that conditions overnight had been "unfavourable".
Multiple wildfires are also burning elsewhere in Spain. A wildfire in Burgohondo, in central Spain, has forced the evacuation of 1,500 people from a nearby area.
More than 30,000 people have fled wildfires in Spain, neighbouring France and Italy as a heatwave scorches southern Europe. France has requested assistance from the European Union to help extinguish a major wildfire near the country's Atlantic coast.
Nearly 125,000 hectares have burned in Spain this year, compared with 393,000 hectares during the whole of 2025. Three firefighters have died while battling the flames - one in Italy and two in France.
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