La Mierla wildfire evacuation winds down to just two towns amid 32,000-hectare blaze
Nine days after igniting in the Sierra Norte of Guadalajara, the La Mierla wildfire, the largest ever recorded in Castilla-La Mancha, has been downgraded to emergency level 1 as of Saturday afternoon, with only two of 34 evacuated towns still under mandatory evacuation.
A historic blaze
The fire started on 16 July in La Mierla, a municipality in the Sierra Norte of Guadalajara, and rapidly grew into the most severe forest fire in Castilla-La Mancha’s history. Official figures from the regional government put the burned area at 32,000 hectares, though some press estimates reach 35,000 hectares. At its peak the emergency forced the evacuation of 34 towns and the confinement of 14 others.
Evacuation rollback
A phased return began as the fire’s intensity dropped. By Saturday morning the evacuation order for Semillas was lifted, leaving four municipalities behind the cordon. Hours later, on Saturday afternoon, the INFOCAM plan cleared Prádena de Atienza and Gascueña de Bornova to return home. Only Aldeanueva de Atienza and El Ordial now remain evacuated. Road closures have also shrunk: by the afternoon report only the GU-151 and GU-147 remained blocked.
Fire status and remaining challenges
The blaze was lowered to operational level 1 on 24 July, a signal that the threat to people and property has diminished. The Military Emergencies Unit (UME) withdrew on the same day, and the advanced command post moved from Tamajón to Condemios de Arriba to sit closer to the most stubborn sector. Technical director Miguel Aguilar told reporters that the active combustion perimeter shrank from roughly 100 kilometres at the start to approximately one discontinuous kilometre.
The active fronts now reduce to approximately one discontinuous kilometre.
The northwest corner of the fire, a pine forest with dense undergrowth, continues to resist full suppression, while the southern and eastern flanks are already stabilised. A total of 148 personnel and 31 resources, four aerial and 27 ground units, remain deployed, and the extinguishing team warns that complete extinction “tardará días” because latent combustion still lingers.
Regional solidarity
The improving picture has allowed Castilla-La Mancha to share firefighting assets with neighbouring communities. The regional government has placed extinguishing personnel at the disposal of other autonomous communities grappling with large wildfires, among them the Community of Madrid and another unspecified region.
- Fire breaks out in La Mierla, Sierra Norte de Guadalajara.
- 34 towns evacuated and 14 municipalities placed under confinement orders.
- Emergency level lowered to 1; UME departs and command post relocates.
- Evacuation lifted for Semillas; four towns remain evacuated, road GU-162 reopened.
- Prádena de Atienza and Gascueña de Bornova cleared to return; only Aldeanueva de Atienza and El Ordial still evacuated; only roads GU-151 and GU-147 remain closed.
