The fires in Madrid, Ávila and Castellón improve on the threshold of the orange alert

The situation of the forest fires in the Community of Madrid, Ávila and Vall d'Uixo (Castellón) has improved thanks to the night work of the fire brigade, although the authorities have called for extreme caution in the face of the onset of a new heat wave announced for today, which has triggered the orange alert in most of the peninsula.

In the Communityof Madrid, improved night weather conditions and emergency services work have made it possible to stabilize a perimeter of nearly 250 kilometres. After a night without re-igniting fire, efforts have focused on cooling hot spots and securing the area this Wednesday before temperatures rise again.

In Castellón, the fire declared in La Vall d'Uixo is active on its fifth day and has already burned about 10,000 hectares in the Sierra de Espadán, covering a perimeter of 75.5 kilometres. Air assets have returned to work early in the morning after detecting fewer and weaker focos thanks to the night work of the ground teams. Although in municipalities such as La Vilavella, Betxi or Onda the confinement has been lifted, some 10,000 people remain evacuated.

In the neighbouring province of Ávila , where more than 50,000 hectares have been burned (the worst fire in Spanish history), the authorities have reported favourable developments in control and stabilization operations, and some residents of several municipalities have been able to return to their homes.

The evolution of these fires has coincided with the start of another heat wave announced by the Spanish Meteorology Agency (AEMET), which this Wednesday will activate an orange or yellow warning for high temperatures in most of the Iberian peninsula, which will complicate both extinction and control work in both regions.