Zamora wildfire near Portuguese border evacuates nearly 200, residents return by evening

Fire breaks out near Portuguese border

A wildfire declared in the early hours of 15 August in La Tejera, a pedanía of the municipality of Hermisende in Zamora province, near the Portuguese border, prompted the preventive evacuation of two villages and the closure of the provincial road ZA-L2698. The fire was detected between 5:30 and 5:40 AM, and its cause remains under investigation, though the point of origin and the early-morning time window point to possible arson. The blaze affected an undetermined area of woodland, scrubland, pasture, and agricultural land.

The regional government of Castilla y León first declared IGR Level 1 for the fire, then raised it to Level 2 approximately half an hour later, around 4:00 PM, as conditions worsened. The delegate for Zamora, Alfredo Prada, explained that atmospheric conditions had driven the fire's rapid spread.

Atmospheric conditions have favored a great speed of propagation.

A storm front shifted the winds, turning the tail of the fire into its head, and the blaze eventually crossed into Portugal, reaching the same burned surface on both sides of the border. Up to five distinct foci were detected throughout the day.

Evacuations and shelter

The villages of Castromil and San Ciprián de Hermisende, with a combined census of 110 residents, were evacuated approximately eleven hours after the fire was first detected. The actual number of people affected reached about 190, well above the usual population, because the villages see a significant influx in August when patronal festivals are held, as was the case on Saturday in Hermisende. Evacuees were directed to Puebla de Sanabria, where a provisional shelter was established and a health center was prepared for potential emergencies. Authorities also organized additional transport in case the evacuation needed to extend to the town of Hermisende itself.

By the evening of 15 August, the favorable evolution of the fire allowed the regional administration to authorize the return of the approximately 200 displaced residents to their homes, following a meeting of the Cecopi emergency coordination body.

Deployment and broader fire activity

The extinction operation involved around thirty resources, both aerial and ground-based. At its peak, the deployment included ten hydroplanes and helicopters, five ground crews, four reinforcement brigades, two fire engines, four bulldozers, two technicians, and seven environmental agents and wardens, plus personnel from the Zamora Provincial Fire Service based in Rionegro del Puente. Earlier reports listed six helicopters and hydroplanes, six ground crews, three helitransported brigades, one fire engine, and four bulldozers.

The La Tejera fire was the most serious of more than a dozen active blazes burning simultaneously across Castilla y León, prompting the regional government to declare Operational Situation 1. The fires, most of them triggered by storms, affected the provinces of Ávila, León, Salamanca, and Zamora.

In León alone, five fires were active across four locations including Los Montes de la Ermita (with two foci), Vegas del Condado, Turienzo de los Caballeros, and Curueña. Ávila and Salamanca each had two fires. In Zamora, beyond La Tejera, fires were also active in Cobreros and Robledo, with another in Otero de Sanabria having been addressed earlier in the day.

Background

The La Tejera fire follows the Fermoselle blaze, described as the most serious fire in the province this summer, which burned approximately 11,000 hectares just over two weeks earlier. The Hermisende area alone has recorded around fifteen fires so far this summer. The cause of the La Tejera fire remains under investigation, with authorities citing the point of origin and the early-morning time window as factors.