Wildfire from Almorox jumps to Madrid, forces evacuation of 1,200 residents and confinement of Villa del Prado

Fire origin and spread

The wildfire started on Wednesday afternoon, 22 July, in the municipality of Almorox, Toledo, a town of 2,569 inhabitants. Driven by high temperatures and wind, it quickly crossed the regional boundary into the Community of Madrid, affecting the municipalities of Villa del Prado and Aldea del Fresno in the Sierra Oeste. The regional government activated Level 2 of the Civil Protection Plan for Forest Fires (Infoma) as the flames advanced. Madrid initially mobilised 19 ground and aerial resources, while Castilla-La Mancha contributed at least 9 ground resources and 42 personnel.

Evacuations and confinements

The Security and Emergencies Agency Madrid 112 (ASEM112) sent a first ES-Alert message around 19:00, ordering the evacuation of the El Encinar del Alberche development, home to approximately 1,200 residents, and the confinement of the entire town of Villa del Prado, with 7,743 inhabitants. Residents were told to stay indoors with doors and windows closed. A second alert at 20:30 extended the measures to the Ribera del Alberche and Rincón del Alberche developments and a nearby campsite, directing people to move to the centre of Aldea del Fresno. The Guardia Civil went door-to-door in Villa del Prado to ensure compliance. About 200 residents were relocated to the municipal sports centre. At 00:45 on Thursday, all evacuees except those from El Encinar del Alberche were allowed to return home.

Damage and firefighting response

The Government delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín, stated that at least around thirty homes had been affected.

At least around thirty houses have been affected by the fire.

No injuries or cases of smoke intoxication were reported. The Military Emergency Unit (UME) was activated at the request of the Madrid region and joined the operation around 21:00. Overnight, 13 heavy forest pumps, two tankers and three command units worked to contain the blaze. The perimeter remained unchanged throughout the night, and extinction work was described as "very positive" by the regional government, though the fire had not yet been declared stabilized as of 07:00 on Thursday. Aerial resources were expected to rejoin at daylight. The Community of Madrid also readied two hospitals as a precaution for a possible mass evacuation. Shortly before 23:00, the first meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Centre (Cecopi) took place at the advanced command post in Cenicientos, 10 kilometres from Almorox.

The perimeter has remained unchanged throughout the night.

Transport disruptions

The roads M-507 towards Navalcarnero, N-403 towards Toledo at their intersection, and the M-540 remained closed. The Regional Transport Consortium reported disruptions on intercity bus lines 545 and 547, which had to limit their routes to Villa del Prado.

Wider fire situation in Spain

The Almorox fire is one of several active wildfires in Spain. In Guadalajara, a fire that has already burned over 30,000 hectares was entering a phase of "optimism", with the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, hoping for stabilization during the day despite wind gusts. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the affected areas on Wednesday and reiterated the need for a state pact against the climate emergency. In Huelva, the regional government ordered the complete evacuation of Villanueva de las Cruces, a town of about 380 inhabitants, due to a fire that started on Tuesday night. Other fires were active in Segovia and Teruel.