The Burgohondo fire has already ravaged 9,000 hectares, devoured the Iruelas Valley, and left one person arrested as it advances towards Madrid

The forest fire that started on Wednesday in Burgohondo keeps the province of Ávila facing an unprecedented emergency. The fire has burned nearly 9,000 hectares, reaches a perimeter of about 71 kilometers, and threatens to join the large front advancing through the west of the Community of Madrid.

Around 1,500 people remain evacuated and the municipalities of Burgohondo, Navaluenga, El Tiemblo, and Cebreros remain confined due to smoke. During the afternoon, the evacuation was extended to the peri-urban area of Cebreros and part of the scattered area of Puente Nuevo, while the road connecting this town with El Tiemblo has been cut off.

A spark from machinery used despite the prohibition

The Civil Guard has arrested one person and keeps another under investigation for their alleged responsibility in the origin of the fire. The Nature Protection Service, known as Seprona, has found evidence that a spark produced by heavy machinery started the flames.

The work was carried out in an area where the Junta de Castilla y León had prohibited the use of equipment capable of generating fire due to the high risk of fire. According to the investigation, the people involved also lacked administrative authorization and the machinery did not comply with the requirements for extinguishing means.

The proceedings provisionally attribute a crime of forest fire and another against natural resources and the environment. The Civil Guard considers the proximity of inhabited areas and the serious damage caused to ecosystems as possible aggravating factors, although it will be the judicial authority that determines the responsibilities.

The fire advanced nearly three kilometers in just 40 minutes during one of its moments of greatest virulence. The wind, low humidity, high temperatures, and an orography with few accesses have made it difficult for ground teams to enter from the very beginning.

El Tiemblo, Cebreros and the Iruelas Valley

The front has crossed the Iruelas Valley Natural Reserve, one of the most valuable environmental areas in Castilla y León and a refuge for one of the main black vulture colonies in Europe. The area has been severely affected, with large forest masses devastated and dead fauna during the advance of the flames.

In El Tiemblo, the La Atalaya urbanization, rural accommodations, a campsite, and other nuclei close to the reserve have been evacuated. Of the 1,500 people displaced in the province, about 600 are distributed in seven shelters. Another 88 residents of senior centers have been transferred to care resources and to the Ávila Hospital, all of them in good condition.

Efforts are now focused on preventing the fire from advancing towards the Tiétar Valley and reaching the Madrid fire. The Government delegate in Castilla y León, Nicanor Sen, has warned that "there is very little left for it to join with that of Madrid", a possibility that would increase the speed and destructive capacity of the flames.

"This is very bad news", Sen acknowledged, who has asked residents to immediately obey any evacuation instruction. "There is no time to waste arguing," he insisted given the risk to tens of thousands of people.

Interior assumes the emergency and Mañueco promises aid

The seriousness and proximity of the Ávila and Madrid fires have led the Government to declare the emergency of national interest. The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has since directed the operation and the Military Emergency Unit assumes operational coordination.

The work involves resources from the Junta, the central Government, provincial councils, city councils, Civil Protection and resources sent from other communities. Helicopters, planes, forest brigades, fire engines and heavy machinery work especially on the flanks close to inhabited areas.

The president of Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, has supported the state command and has highlighted the collaboration between administrations. He has also announced a recovery plan to assist affected livestock farmers, with special attention to the supply of water and food for animals.

Health recommends remaining inside homes in confined towns, keeping doors and windows closed, and limiting outdoor physical activity. Children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with respiratory or cardiovascular diseases should take extreme precautions and seek assistance if they experience difficulty breathing.

Decisions regarding new evacuations and the lifting of confinements will depend on the evolution of the wind, which can reach gusts of 50 kilometers per hour, and the advance of fronts near El Tiemblo, Cebreros, and the border with Madrid.