AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Wildfires in Spain and France have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. The French and Spanish militaries have joined firefighters in battling the devastating blazes, which are being described as some of the worst in recent memory. Other European nations have sent water-dumping planes and helicopters to assist the firefighting efforts. NPR’s Miguel Macias is following the story from Seville, Spain, and he joins us now. Good morning.
MIGUEL MACIAS, BYLINE: Good morning, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So what’s the latest where you are?
MACIAS: Well, we’re facing some critical hours when it comes to fighting these fires. There are mainly two big fires raging in the center of the country. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska did not sound very upbeat on Saturday.
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FERNANDO GRANDE-MARLASKA: (Speaking Spanish).
MACIAS: He said Saturday was not a good day. The wind made things very difficult. We’re talking about more than 100,000 people evacuated across the regions of Madrid and Avila. However, Marlaska was optimistic about Sunday, and we just got some good news on that central fire in Spain. Authorities say those fires are finally coming under control as we speak. But meanwhile, another fire is not under control in the eastern side of the country in Castellon. That is where the first death from the wildfires in Spain this week was reported. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Saturday tried to put things into context.
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PRIME MINISTER PEDRO SANCHEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
MACIAS: He says so far this year, well over 300,000 acres have burned in Spain, compared to an average of less than 250,000 acres per year in the past decade. So this year’s looking like a record-setting one. And in France, 220,000 people have been evacuated as a single fire gets as close as nine miles to the city of Bordeaux in the wine region.
RASCOE: Did authorities in Spain say anything about the risk to the population?
MACIAS: Yes. Last night, standing next to the interior minister, we saw Lieutenant General Francisco Javier Marcos, who’s in charge of the entire operation. And he summarized things this way.
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FRANCISCO JAVIER MARCOS: (Speaking Spanish).
MACIAS: He says he wanted to send a message of calm. Quote, “the fires are not under control, but the situation is under control,” referring to the evacuations. And some of the images, Ayesha, are just astonishing – firefighters running away from the places. I heard from one firefighter who told me they faced flames as tall as 100 feet.
RASCOE: Miguel, I do want to touch on one important thing. What do experts say can be done in the future about these fires?
MACIAS: This is where things get a bit complicated. Officials, time and time again, talk about prevention, which means preparing the land so the fires can be stopped more easily. This has always been the case, but with the increased risk of fires, it’s a new reality now. And not surprisingly, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez puts the focus on climate change.
There’s also labor disputes in Spain, and you still see rural firefighters on precarious contracts that are interrupted when they’re not in fire season. But all this, of course, doesn’t matter right now, Sunday at this hour, as people are still risking their lives to stop these fires.
RASCOE: That’s NPR’s Miguel Macias in Seville, Spain. Thank you so much.
MACIAS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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