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As wildfire damage continues to spread across Europe, Spain has declared a state of emergency over wildfires for the first time in its history, while France has requested assistance from the European Union (EU).
The Spanish government announced on the night of the 23rd, local time, that it was declaring a state of emergency as multiple wildfires broke out simultaneously and worsening weather conditions complicated response efforts.
The regional government of Madrid, where the capital is located, requested support from the central government, describing the situation as "extremely critical" as fires in Villa del Prado and San Martín de Valdeiglesias threatened to spread beyond the authorities' firefighting capabilities.
Concerns were also raised that a wildfire in Ávila, in the autonomous community of Castile and León, could spread toward the Madrid region.
In the Madrid region alone, 10,000 people have been evacuated, and military emergency response units have taken charge of crisis management.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated via social media, "The government is deploying all available resources to halt the fires affecting various parts of Spain, including Ávila, León, Toledo, and Madrid."
According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), wildfires in Spain have burned 125,000 hectares (1,250 square kilometers) this year, an area more than twice the size of Seoul.
Heatwaves, dry weather, and strong winds are fueling the wildfires.
Across the EU as a whole, the area burned by July 22 was about twice the average of the past two decades.
France saw a record-high area burned, while Spain recorded an all-time high number of fires.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, whose country is also grappling nationwide with wildfires, told AFP that 32 large and small wildfires were currently burning simultaneously.
Minister Nunez stated that the wildfire in the southwestern Gironde region had burned more than 10,000 hectares so far, calling it "the largest of this season."
He explained that approximately 40,000 people have been or are being evacuated by land and sea in this region alone, with 80 homes burned, of which about 50 were completely destroyed.
He added that in the Landes region, adjacent to Gironde, 2,500 hectares have been consumed by wildfires since the previous afternoon, with 23,000 people evacuated and around 100 homes damaged or destroyed.
Minister Nunez noted that the total area consumed by wildfires since January of this year has exceeded 50,000 hectares, nearly triple the figure from the same period last year.
France has requested help from the European Union (EU) to swiftly extinguish the wildfires raging across the country.
President Emmanuel Macron stated, "The situation is extremely urgent due to the wildfires sweeping across the country, especially in the Gironde region," adding that he has "requested the activation of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism."
This is a system through which EU member states can request assistance from other member states when experiencing major disasters.
President Macron announced that, accordingly, two amphibious firefighting aircraft from Croatia, two Air Tractor helicopters from Portugal, and two heavy Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia will be rapidly deployed.
President Macron also urged citizens to "exercise extreme caution," noting that minor carelessness can lead to wildfires.
(Photo: Getty Images Korea)
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