Galicia forest fire burns 180 hectares, forces evacuation of 10 homes in Padrón

Ignition and spread

The fire broke out at around 16:00 on Friday, 12 June, in the Herbón parish of Padrón, a municipality in the province of A Coruña, Galicia. High temperatures across the region, with readings above 30 °C, and a lack of overnight cooling created conditions that allowed the flames to spread rapidly through forested terrain. By early Saturday morning, the affected area reached roughly 100 hectares, but the regional government’s rural affairs department reported that the fire was evolving favourably towards stabilisation.

Reactivation and evacuations

During Saturday, a flank of the fire reignited, complicating the situation. The Galician government declared Situación 2 as a preventive emergency measure due to the proximity of the flames to the hamlets of Sobrerribas and Cruxeiras de Abaixo, both in the parish of Carcacía. The mayor of Padrón, Anxo Rei Arca, confirmed to Europa Press that all 10 homes in Cruxeiras de Abaixo were evacuated. He noted that the fire had crossed municipal boundaries and entered the neighbouring municipality of Teo, advancing towards Vilar do Bispo.

There is quite a bit of wind, something that didn't happen on Friday. The maximum risk is in Cruxeiras de Abaixo. Personnel are working there so that the houses are not affected, but it's close.

Firefighting deployment

The regional authorities have mobilised a large emergency operation. According to the Consellería do Medio Rural, the accumulated deployment includes four technicians, 36 agents, 47 firefighting brigades, 33 pumpers, three bulldozers, seven technical support units, eight helicopters, and seven fixed-wing aircraft. The Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition (Miteco) has also contributed two amphibious aircraft and one helicopter, which coordinate with the regional device. Firefighters are working to channel the fire and prevent it from reaching homes, but the difficult terrain has made extinguishing efforts more challenging.

Infrastructure and services

No casualties or structural damage have been reported so far. However, the fire caused power cuts in the parishes of Herbón and Iria, as well as interruptions to mobile telephone coverage and data services. A house in Herbón was temporarily evacuated on Friday evening as a precaution to allow crews to cool the area; its three residents were later able to return.

Weather and outlook

Forecasters had warned of high temperatures across Galicia, with conditions more typical of tropical climates than the Atlantic. The heat and the gusty winds that picked up on Saturday have complicated efforts to bring the fire under control. The mayor acknowledged that further reactivations were likely during the day given the forecast heat, but stressed that all available resources would remain deployed.

As a consequence of the high temperatures forecast for today, it is very probable that reactivations occur, which will be tackled by the extinguishing teams.

Timeline of the fire