Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited evacuees from the country’s devastating wildfires on Sunday, praising the ‘exemplary coordination’ of the emergency response as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warned the nation still faced ‘difficult hours’ despite signs of progress in some of the worst-hit areas.
The royal couple travelled to the evacuation centre at Villamanta, west of Madrid, where they met residents forced from their homes and thanked firefighters, military personnel and emergency services working around the clock to tackle the blazes. They were accompanied by the head of Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME), Lieutenant General Francisco Javier Marcos, Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso and Villamanta mayor Mariano Núñez.
King Felipe said the visit was intended to recognise the efforts being made across the country.
‘This is an example of what is being done in other places where people are fighting the fire. We want to show our affection, support and solidarity with everyone who has been through such a difficult time,’ he said.
He also thanked local residents and emergency services, including the UME, National Police, Guardia Civil and Civil Protection volunteers, adding: ‘The coordination has been exemplary. United we can face any risk.’
Queen Letizia highlighted the importance of supporting those affected by the disaster, saying: ‘It is important to listen carefully to the residents. To listen to how they are feeling.’
Earlier, Prime Minister Sánchez visited the advanced command centre coordinating firefighting operations west of Madrid, where he acknowledged that although conditions had improved overnight, the emergency was far from over.
‘We’re facing some difficult hours, although it’s true that the latest update has shown that last night was very positive in terms of the fire’s evolution and efforts to control it.’
Sánchez said Spain and neighbouring Portugal were increasingly experiencing the consequences of climate change through a combination of extreme weather events. ALSO READ: Guardia Civil arrest tractor driver over alleged negligence as Spain’s wildfire crisis deepens.
‘The entire Iberian peninsula is suffering the effects of the climate emergency in a very specific way,’ he said. He also called for ‘a major public pact on the climate emergency’ to strengthen Spain’s long-term response to increasingly frequent extreme weather.
The most destructive fires remain centred around the Madrid region, neighbouring Ávila province and Toledo, where multiple blazes were still active on Sunday as firefighters awaited more favourable weather conditions.
Around 77,000 hectares have already been burned in the Madrid and Ávila fires alone, while almost 90,000 people remain evacuated or confined in those two areas.
Portugal, Greece and Italy have joined the international firefighting effort, while Spain’s Interior Ministry has extended the national emergency declaration to Toledo province because of the Almorox wildfire. The UME has also established a unified command to coordinate operations across Madrid and Ávila.
Authorities said significant progress had been made in cooling and containing the largest fires west of Madrid, although crews remained on high alert. ALSO READ: Spain declares first national wildfire emergency as blazes rage, while France battles mass evacuations.
Spain’s Environment Minister, Sara Aagesen, described the blaze that has scorched around 50,000 hectares in Ávila as ‘the largest forest fire in our country’s recent history’.
At the same time, firefighters were battling a dangerous new wildfire near the Mediterranean coast in the Valencian Community. The blaze near Vall d’Uixó, in the Castellón province, has expanded to a perimeter of around 21 kilometres, forcing the evacuation or confinement of about 16,000 people.
Regional president Juanfran Pérez Llorca warned late on Saturday: ‘The fire is beyond our capacity to extinguish, it has a perimeter of about 21km.’
The latest wildfire emergency has also claimed lives. Spain’s Interior Ministry confirmed that a man was found dead inside a car in a ravine in the Valencian town of Manises. ALSO READ: Death toll from Almeria wildfire reaches 13 after elderly British woman succumbs to her injuries.
Eight additional municipalities near Toledo have also been evacuated, pushing the number of people forced from their homes in Spain during the latest wave of wildfires to well over 100,000. While official figures have varied as conditions changed throughout the weekend, authorities said between around 90,000 and 116,000 people had been evacuated or confined across the country.
The fires are unfolding during what is already proving to be one of Spain’s worst wildfire seasons on record. According to the Environment Ministry, 32 major wildfires have burned 152,678 hectares so far in 2026 – more than six times the area destroyed during the same period last year, when seven major fires consumed 24,133 hectares.
The crisis forms part of a wider emergency affecting southern Europe. ALSO READ: Sánchez unveils Spain’s largest anti-wildfire operation after devastating 2025 fires.
Bordeaux
Across neighbouring France, nearly 260,000 people have been evacuated as firefighters continue battling a massive wildfire near Bordeaux in the Gironde region. Around 55,000 residents were ordered to leave villages overnight as the blaze spread to within 25 to 30 kilometres of the city.
Bordeaux mayor Thomas Cazenave described the fire as being ‘at the gates of the metropolitan area’.
Taken together, the fires in France and Spain have forced approximately 375,000 people to flee their homes, making the current emergency one of western Europe’s largest wildfire crises in recent years.
Scientists say Europe’s succession of heatwaves since spring, including its hottest June on record, has left forests and vegetation exceptionally dry, dramatically increasing the risk of large, fast-moving wildfires across the continent.
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Esta mañana, el Rey ha presidido, en el Cuartel General de la UME, una reunión informativa sobre la situación de los incendios.
— Casa de S.M. el Rey (@CasaReal) July 26, 2026
Después, los Reyes se han desplazado al polideportivo municipal “La Chopera”, en Villamanta, para mostrar su apoyo a los vecinos evacuados. pic.twitter.com/gRe61wKjev
Los Reyes han acudido esta mañana al polideportivo municipal “La Chopera”, en Villamanta, habilitado para acoger a aproximadamente a 200 personas evacuadas por los incendios, para mantener un encuentro con los vecinos evacuados, mostrar su apoyo a las familias desplazadas y… pic.twitter.com/97IUEbvE8N
— Casa de S.M. el Rey (@CasaReal) July 26, 2026
🫡 El Cuartel General de la @UMEgob que es también, epicentro de la gestión operativa de los incendios, ha recibido la visita de SM el Rey.
— Ministerio Defensa (@Defensagob) July 26, 2026
📍Aquí el seguimiento y actualización de datos es constante.
👥 Gracias al personal desplegado en este centro neurálgico de la emergencia. pic.twitter.com/ecPlBA48bp
El próximo Consejo de Ministros aprobará la declaración como zonas gravemente afectadas por emergencias de protección civil las afectadas por los incendios forestales.
— La Moncloa (@desdelamoncloa) July 26, 2026
Lo ha anunciado @sanchezcastejon en su visita a las zonas incendiadas en Ávila.https://t.co/UlqRTvqEf6 pic.twitter.com/xfi9IYMsV7
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