Spain deploys 500 more troops to battle wildfires during extended heat
wave
[August 18, 2025]
By BARRY HATTON
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Spain is deploying a further 500 soldiers to
battle wildfires that have torn through parched woodland during a
prolonged spell of scorching weather, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said
Sunday.
The decision to add to the more than 1,400 troops already on wildfire
duty came as authorities struggled to contain forest blazes, especially
in the northwestern Galicia region, and awaited the arrival of promised
aircraft reinforcements from other European countries.
Firefighters are tackling 12 major wildfires in Galicia, all of them
near the city of Ourense, the head of the Galician regional government
Alfonso Rueda told a press conference with Sánchez.
“Homes are still under threat so we have lockdowns in place and are
carrying out evacuations,” Rueda said. Galicia has been battling the
spreading flames for more than a week.
Temperatures in Spain could reach 45 Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in some
areas Sunday, the Spanish national weather agency AEMET said. On
Saturday, the maximum temperature was 44.7 C (112.46 F) in the southern
city of Cordoba, it said.
“This Sunday, when extraordinarily high temperatures are expected, the
danger of wildfires is extreme in most of the country,” AEMET said on
the social platform X.
The fires in Spain this year have burned 158,000 hectares (390,000
acres), according to the European Union’s European Forest Fire
Information System. That is an area roughly as big as metropolitan
London.
Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average since the
1980s, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Scientists say that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and
intensity of heat and dryness in parts of Europe, making the region more
vulnerable to wildfires.
Spain awaits European firefighters, more planes
Spain was expecting the arrival of two Dutch water-dumping planes that
were to join aircraft from France and Italy already helping Spanish
authorities under a European cooperation agreement.
Firefighters from other countries are also expected to arrive in the
region in coming days, Spain’s Civil Protection Agency chief Virginia
Barcones told public broadcaster RTVE.
National rail operator Renfe said it suspended Madrid-Galicia high-speed
train services scheduled for Sunday due to the fires.
Galician authorities advised people to wear face masks and limit their
time spent outdoors to avoid inhaling smoke and ash.
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A firefighting plane drops water over a wildfire in Veiga das Meas,
northwestern Spain, on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Lalo R.
Villar)
Portugal heads into cooler days
Portugal is set for cooler weather in coming days after a spate of
severe woodland fires. A national state of alert due to wildfires
was enacted Aug. 2 and was due to end Sunday, a day before two
Swedish firefighting planes were to arrive.
As in Spain, Portugal’s resources have been stretched. On Sunday,
more than 4,000 firefighters and more than 1,300 vehicles were
deployed, as well as 17 aircraft, the country’s Civil Protection
Agency said.
The scorched area of forest in Portugal so far this year is 17 times
higher than in 2024, at around 139,000 hectares, according to
preliminary calculations by the Institute for the Conservation of
Nature and Forests, a government body.
Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania have also requested help
from the EU’s firefighting force in recent days to deal with forest
fires. The force has already been activated as many times this year
as in all of last year’s summer fire season.
Turkish fires threaten area of Gallipoli memorials
In Turkey, where recent wildfires have killed 19 people, parts of
the historic region that includes memorials to World War I's
Gallipoli campaign were evacuated Sunday as blazes threatened homes
in the country’s northwest.
Six villages were evacuated as a precautionary measure, the governor
of Canakkale province, Omer Toraman, said.
Some 1,300 firefighting personnel backed by 30 aircraft were
battling the blaze, according to the General Directorate of
Forestry.
A wildfire on the peninsula to the north of the Dardanelles Strait
led to the closure of visitor facilities at Gallipoli, the site’s
management said. The area is dotted with cemeteries, memorials and
other remnants of battles waged between Ottoman and Allied troops in
1915.
Turkey has been struck by hundreds of fires since late June, fueled
by record-breaking temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds.
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AP reporter Andrew Wilks in Istanbul contributed to this story.
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