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Thousands of residents evacuated during massive wildfires in Spain have begun returning home on Wednesday after authorities eased restrictions, saying firefighters had made significant progress in containing some of the country’s worst forest fires in recent history.
The government lifted evacuation orders late Tuesday for more than a dozen municipalities in the Madrid and Avila regions, where the blazes forced tens of thousands of people from their homes.
Francisco Martin Aguirre, the central government’s delegate to the Madrid region, said about 24,000 evacuees had returned home, while movement restrictions affecting another 20,000 people had been lifted.
He added that emergency crews were continuing efforts to consolidate progress made in tackling the fires and that the return of residents was proceeding without incident.
“24,000 evacuated individuals have been able to return to their homes, and another 20,000 have been released from confinement in the Community of Madrid,” central government delegate to the region Francisco Martin Aguirre said on X (formerly Twitter) late on Tuesday.
“Work continues to consolidate the progress made throughout the day in tackling the fire. The return of evacuees is proceeding without incident.”
Although residents of Aldea del Fresno were allowed back on Wednesday, smoke still blanketed the area and the smell of burning remained strong.
High winds and a fresh heatwave have complicated firefighting efforts, with the blazes destroying about 77,000 hectares of land, an area nearly the size of New York City.
Authorities said cooler overnight conditions helped reduce the intensity of the fires and stabilise their perimeter.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said firefighters were focused on stabilising the fires and, if conditions allowed, extinguishing the remaining hotspots on Wednesday.
Restrictions were also eased in parts of Castellon near Valencia, where authorities lifted confinement measures in the municipality of Vall d’Uixo.
According to the European Forest Fire Information System, wildfires have burned about 207,000 hectares across Spain between January and July this year, making it one of the country’s worst wildfire seasons on record for that period.
Spanish authorities have reported slightly different figures, but they similarly indicate an unprecedented level of destruction.
