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This summer of 2025 has been one of the worst for forest fires in Spain in living memory. As of September 1, the country has now downgraded its emergency level, but the summer and the hot weather are still not over in Spain, where large-scale wildfires have burnt up more than 300,000 hectares of land and taken the lives of four people in August alone.

 

 

Spain’s worst wildfire episode in recent history was fuelled by a “major meteorological anomaly” that combined record-breaking heat, extreme dryness and shifting winds. The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) confirmed that the August heatwave was the most intense and the third longest since at least 1975, with four record hot days recorded on the 11th, 12th, 16th and 17th. Very low humidity levels, strong gusts of wind and dry storms made it almost impossible to stabilise outbreaks.

 

 

The majority of forest fires in Spain are caused by negligence on the part of people in the countryside – such as throwing cigarette butts on the floor, leaving glass lying around or having barbecues in high-risk areas – or are caused intentionally by arsonists.

 

It’s also true that when rural areas are not cared for, with forests piled high with fallen needles and leaves, also serve to aggravate the conditions for fires to spread very quickly, as does the changing climate, which means more drought conditions and water stress for Spain’s countryside.

 

 

 

Over 300,000 hectares of forest and countryside have been destroyed in just 20 days, according to data from the Copernicus satellite. Ninety-three forest fires were recorded, 39 of them classed as “large fires” after burning up more than 500 hectares each. Four people died, 48 were injured and tens of thousands had to be evacuated. Galicia alone saw more than 78,500 hectares burned in three mega-fires, all of which are now extinguished.

 

 

On August 16, there were 23 simultaneous fires in operational status: 12 in Castilla y León, five in Galicia, three in Extremadura, two in Asturias and one in Cantabria. This proved to be the peak of the emergency, prompting the mobilisation of unprecedented national and international resources.

 

 

The Ministry for Ecological Transition deployed up to 53 aircraft in a single day, rising to 57 with international support. Ten European countries provided assistance, with France, Italy and the Netherlands contributing aircraft, while Germany, Greece and others sent land resources.

 

The Military Emergency Unit (UME) participated in 47 operations with nearly 6,000 personnel. Police and Civil Guard forces managed more than 35,000 evacuations and 20,000 roadside warnings.

 

 

The Director of Spain’s Civil Protection service, Virginia Barcones, confirmed that Spain has moved from “pre-emergency” to a phase of “alert and permanent monitoring”. Only six fires remain active at the lowest operational level.

 

While officials welcomed the progress, Barcones warned, “We have all won this battle. But the war is not over because climate change is still here, and now we must all come together again to strengthen the entire system and continue to protect our country.”

 

 

Despite the laudable work performed by firefighters in battling this summer’s blazes, it seems that some of them feel underappreciated. Now that the worst of the fires is over, pilots of forest firefighters’ planes pilots have begun a long-planned strike that had originally been scheduled for August 20 but which had been postponed due to the emergency situation. The strike has been called by the Free Union of Air Workers, which represents Pegasus, a company dedicated to aerial firefighting operations.

 

These workers will strike from Monday September 1 until January 31, 2026. Workers’ demands include an end to unjust working conditions, including excessive workloads, shifts without adequate breaks, an inability to balance work and personal life, staff shortages, and stagnant wages. The union has also agreed to maintain the minimum services necessary for firefighting throughout Spain.

 

Image: Bomberos de León