Fires in Spain: "The worst is over," according to civil protection, but "one last effort must be made to put an end to this terrible situation."

The end of the fires that have ravaged Spain for two weeks, killing four people and destroying hundreds of thousands of hectares, "is getting closer," the Director General of Civil Protection declared on public television TVE on Saturday, August 23.

"There is not much left and the end is near," said Ms. Barcones. These are very "treacherous" fires and "we must make a final effort to put an end to this terrible situation," she added. "The general feeling is one of improvement, of a favorable evolution, that the worst is over," she insisted.

However, according to her, there remain "18 active forest fires, 17 of which are in 'operational situation 2'" , meaning they represent a danger to people and homes. The one in Iguena, in the region of Castile and Leon (North-West) is "particularly" worrying, she added.

Hundreds of people and many villages are still evacuated due to the threat of fires, but many residents have been able to return to their homes in the past 24 hours.

These fires have particularly affected the western half of the country, the regions of Galicia, Castile and Leon, and Extremadura. They began in the middle of a heatwave that lasted 16 days, with temperatures reaching 40°C across the country and reaching 45°C in several southern regions. With the end of this heatwave, higher humidity, and less strong winds, "conditions are more favorable" for putting out the fires, Barcones observed.