Poland’s Ministry of the Interior and Administration announced on Saturday on the X platform that 105 Polish firefighters will be stationed in Spain from August 1 to 30 as part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
Sánchez said that the forest fires in the Community of Madrid and the province of Ávila will be managed as a single operation. He also called for a nationwide pact to confront climate change.
Spain’s Ministry of Ecological Transition reported that more than 131,000 hectares have burned so far this year. During the same period last year, fires destroyed over 24,000 hectares.
On Saturday, the Interior Ministry said the situation has forced 63,000 people either to evacuate or remain indoors.
AFP reported that thick gray smoke drifted over western Madrid on Saturday, with the smell of burning detectable even in the city center. Many residents and tourists wore masks and kept windows closed, public broadcaster RTVE said.
Authorities noted on Friday that “temperatures have dropped, the wind has subsided, and relative humidity has increased.” However, they warned that Saturday would be “difficult” due to forecasts of stronger, irregular winds in the morning.
Carlos Novillo, head of Madrid’s emergency management service, said on Friday that the fire “has reached its peak and is currently beyond the capabilities of firefighters to contain it.”
The threat prompted the evacuation of NASA’s complex in Robledo de Chavela, about 63 kilometers west of Madrid, RTVE reported.
“We cannot confirm whether the flames have reached the facility because no one is inside,” said NASA executive assistant Lola Cadierno, adding that around 90 employees had been evacuated.
The Spanish NASA complex is one of three stations in the Deep Space Network, alongside sites in Goldstone, California, and Canberra, Australia. The network maintains communications and tracks missions in deep space. Damage to the facility could disrupt some missions. “That would be a tragedy for NASA,” Cadierno said.
(pu)
Source: PAP