This screen grab taken from handout aerial video footage released on July 18, 2026 by Spain's Pegaso unit of the Guardia Civil shows a massive wildfire, in Cinco Villas area, near Zaragoza, in a sparsely populated part of the Aragon region in northeastern Spain. (Photo by Handout / Spanish Guardia Civil / AFP)
Madrid: A wildfire raging 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Madrid has spread, burning more than 12,000 hectares and forcing several hundred people to evacuate, local authorities announced on Sunday.
The fire that started on Thursday in Guadalajara province, which includes the Sierra Norte Natural Park, has not caused any casualties so far but has been described as "difficult" by regional president Emiliano Garcia-Page and local authorities on X.
It broke out in a forest-covered, mountainous region that is home to endangered species including eagles, wolves and butterflies.
It comes hot on the heels of a blaze that started on Wednesday near Zaragoza, in the northeast, has burned nearly 16,000 hectares and is "far from under control", according to the latest update provided on Saturday evening by the regional government of Aragon.
No casualties have been reported.
Earlier this month, Spain witnessed one of the deadliest wildfires in its recent history, when a blaze in the southern province of Almeria killed 13 people and destroyed 7,000 hectares.
