This summer, wildfires have put Spain’s emergency preparedness and response systems to one of their toughest tests yet. By late July, according to Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth observation programme, around 120 000 hectares had burned across the country. On 24 July, a number of large fires burning simultaneously threatened the outskirts of Madrid, prompting Spain’s first-ever declaration of a national wildfire emergency. As thousands were evacuated from towns and villages, the region called for the response to be placed under the direct authority of the interior minister, a move reflecting the scale and intensity of the situation.
Angela Iglesias Rodrigo is Head of the Forest Fire Defence Service at the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Rural Development. She and her team are responsible for deploying national resources when fires exceed local or regional capacity. She describes the unprecedented ferocity of the wildfires and how Spain has been responding to this escalating threat.
Big fires
Credit: UME-OCP
Every year, Spain experiences many wildfires. “The regions are completely competent in preparedness, prevention, response and restoration,” says Angela. “Up to 60% of the fires are smaller than one hectare. So, the region can deal perfectly with a fire of that size. If the fire gets bigger or more complicated, or the region is suffering different fires simultaneously, then it requests national support through the Ministry of Ecological Transition.”
Concerningly though, in recent years in Spain, big fires have been getting much bigger. “Big fires are those affecting more than 500 hectares; in the last year, we are far over the average of those big fires. For example, last year we had 63 of those when the average is 23,” says Angela. “And the problem of those big fires over 500 hectares is that, in recent years, they are big fires not because they are 600 hectares, but because they are 70 000 hectares, like this last one.”
“The energy is so huge”
Usually, when the Ministry deploys extra resources, such as personnel and equipment, regional fire chiefs remain in charge of the response. Only in exceptional situations, such as the recent level-3 emergency, is operational control shifted to the national authorities, and military support brought in through the civil protection system.
Angela describes why fires that triggered the national emergency declaration were not possible to extinguish. “If you have flames of 40 metres, and if you put water on them by a plane or helicopter, the water just evaporates before touching the ground, so it’s useless. No matter how big your airplane, no matter how big your helicopter. Also, it’s impossible for ground forces to reach the fire front because the energy is so huge that you cannot approach the fire. You have to stay really far away from the fire, so no direct attack is possible.”
The only course of action has been to wait until the intensity of the fire recedes, while evacuating anyone in the area to avoid injury. “All you can do is to defend the population, defend infrastructure, but it’s not possible to extinguish the fire,” says Angela.
The emotional impact of watching these unextinguishable fires burn is enormous, particularly for firefighters who come from the affected areas. “Some of them are fighting fires in the villages where they live. So, emotionally, for them, that’s also very difficult because you are not extinguishing any fire – it is a fire that is damaging your people, your country, your family and property.”
Not just response
Credit: UME-OCP
For Angela, the deeper lesson is that wildfire preparedness must go far beyond emergency response. Climate change is one driver of worsening wildfires, but so too are rural abandonment, reduced forest management and a lack of public awareness about fire risk.
“We have to prepare not only the firefighters but society,” she says.
That means building resilience before flames appear: managing forests more effectively, protecting villages and their surroundings and helping communities understand how to act when fire threatens. Angela argues that many countries still focus too heavily on response — including purchasing bigger aircraft — when the real lesson is broader. “In Spain, we have strategic guidelines on fire management; there are many, many recommendations dealing with fire, and only maybe a few of them have to do with response.”
Making a difference
The summer has been demanding for Angela and her colleagues. She describes long days, some stretching to 15 hours, but also the satisfaction of seeing their efforts make a difference. The pressure on responders is both physical and emotional. Firefighters are trained for the demands of the job through regular physical preparation and practical exercises, alongside courses on stress management, leadership and working with affected populations. After exceptional incidents, psychological support is available. Her message of gratitude to those on the frontline urges caution. “In Spain we have realized that sometimes we put people out there in order to protect the forest. The forest can grow again, but people, if they have an accident, they don’t come back. So be prepared, be professional, train yourself and thank you.”
After more than 26 years in fire management, Angela knows that professionalism also means knowing when to pause. “At some point, you have to stop, because otherwise you’re not useful,” she says. She will make sure to take a break and return refreshed for what may still be a long summer. “This year, by July, we have already had many more fires than we should have had by this time of the year. We are still in the first half of the summer, and usually in Spain, July does not have so many wildfires. This year we are having a terrible July, and we don’t know how August will be.”
Spain’s experience is a reminder that wildfire preparedness is increasingly a public health and health security issue as much as an emergency management one. As heat, drought and fire risk intensify across Europe, the message is clear: prepare the land, prepare communities and protect the people who protect others.
WHO/Europe is working with countries to assess risks and prepare to respond to emergencies. It has also developed a guidance and resource package for the health sector with tools and resources to protect people from smoke and extreme heat and make health services and facilities more resilient to wildfires and heatwaves.