Wildfire in Teruel's Sierra de Majalinos swells to 1,000 hectares, forcing evacuation of Molinos
A wildfire that ignited Monday afternoon near Ejulve in Spain's Teruel province has scorched an estimated 1,000 hectares and prompted the overnight evacuation of the municipality of Molinos, with the Spanish Military Emergency Unit deployed alongside a large aerial and ground operation.
Fire origin and timeline
The fire was reported at around 17:45 on Monday, 20 July, near kilometer 20 of the A-1702 road, in the Puerto de Majalinos area of the Sierra de Majalinos. The terrain is low scrubland that last burned in a major wildfire on 22 July 2009, a blaze that charred 7,300 hectares across the municipalities of Aliaga and Ejulve. By late Monday evening, the provisional perimeter was estimated at approximately 170 hectares. Overnight the situation deteriorated sharply, and by Tuesday morning regional authorities estimated the affected area had grown to around 1,000 hectares.
- Fire ignites near km 20 of the A-1702, Puerto de Majalinos, Ejulve.
- Initial perimeter estimated at 170 ha; three masías evacuated.
- Aerial assets withdrawn; ground crews continue work; winds shift from SW to NW-NE, gusts up to 40 km/h.
- ES-Alert message orders preventive evacuation of Molinos.
- Fire grows to ~1,000 ha; Operational Situation 2, Level 2 declared; PMA relocates from Cinco Villas to Ejulve.
- UME Fourth Intervention Battalion active; 5+ aerial assets, 7 ground brigades, 6 engines, 4 bulldozers deployed.
The fire is active after daybreak on Tuesday. The regional government has raised the emergency level to Operational Situation 2, Level 2 under the PROCINFO plan. The Advanced Command Post (PMA), previously coordinating the Cinco Villas fire, has been relocated to Ejulve to direct this incident.
Emergency response deployed
The Spanish Military Emergency Unit (UME) has been activated, with units from the Fourth Intervention Battalion departing from the Zaragoza Air Base. The regional firefighting service (INFOAR) has deployed four aerial assets, three heli-transported brigades, six ground brigades, seven fire engines, and one bulldozer. The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has contributed a helicopter bomber and two fixed-wing aircraft, with additional aerial resources pending confirmation.
For Tuesday's operations, the INFOAR plan foresees seven ground brigades, six fire engines, two bulldozers on site (with another two en route), five aerial assets, and a coordination helicopter. Personnel from the Director of Extinction Support Group (GADEX) and Environmental Protection Agents (APN) acting as sector chiefs will join the effort. A heavy air tanker based in Caravaca and two ground-loading aircraft are expected to be fully active during the day.
The zone of low scrubland already affected in 2009 reduces the available fuel load, but it remains a fire with potential requiring a significant deployment of resources.
Evacuations and road closures
The fire has forced the evacuation of three farmhouses (masías) in the immediate area. At midnight on Tuesday, the 112 Aragón emergency service sent an ES-Alert message ordering the preventive evacuation of Molinos. Residents were transported to the sports hall in Alcorisa. The A-1702 road remains closed between kilometer points 10 and 27, from Ejulve to the Montoro de Mezquita junction.
Weather outlook as a complicating factor
Overnight winds were shifting, initially southwesterly with gusts up to 40 km/h, then turning northwesterly to northeasterly. The Tuesday forecast calls for easterly winds and a drop in relative humidity to 20–25 percent, conditions that the extinction command is monitoring closely as they could intensify fire behavior.
