Spain races to contain blazes before temperatures rise

Spain faces two crucial days to bring raging wildfires under control before weather conditions worsen, authorities said Monday, as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on his citizens to "exercise extreme caution" ahead of a new heatwave.

Wildfires that broke out in forests around the Spanish capital at the height of the summer holidays have forced some 60,000 people to flee their homes, often with just minutes' notice, leaving pets and medicine behind.

"You run to save what you can and then you turn to defend" against the fire, said Karim Benali, 39, a volunteer who spoke to AFP on a road near Navaluenga, west of Madrid.

"There were some 48 homes here, they burned," he said, surrounded by charred earth and trees blanketed with a persistent smell of smoke.

The fires devoured forests left tinder-dry by successive heatwaves and lack of rain since May.

Overnight, lower temperatures, weaker winds and higher air humidity helped make progress against the blazes west of the capital, the Madrid regional government said.

The flames have "slowed their advance", it said, while urging residents to remain "extremely cautious".

"The situation has improved slightly, but the fire is still active," it said.

But with humidity levels set to drop and temperatures soar across Spain, hitting 40C in the center and south according to meteorological agency AEMET, firefighters have only a small window of opportunity.

- 'Extreme caution' -

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters that Monday and Tuesday "are absolutely decisive days" to control the fires, before temperatures start rising again.

"The next two days will not bring the most favorable conditions, nor the ones we would have wanted, but they are two days in which we can take the initiative, make progress, and work towards controlling and containing the blaze."

AEMET said that from Tuesday the fire risk would "surge to very high or extreme levels across almost the entire country."

"This situation will persist, or may even worsen, in the following days," it added.

Reacting to the forecast, Sanchez said: "I ask for understanding and call on all citizens in all the country to exercise extreme caution and take every possible precaution."

"We face difficult hours, complex hours" ahead, he warned.

- 'Lost everything' -

In Chapineria, west of Madrid, the flames had torn through dozens of vehicles at an industrial park, leaving only charred shells behind, AFP photographers saw.

Meanwhile, at a sports hall in Las Rozas de Madrid, just outside the capital, the displaced sprawled on camp beds, held their heads in their hands and comforted pets as they awaited news.

Maria Angeles Canete fought back tears as she looked around the desolation that used to be her campsite near Navaluenga.

"We lost everything," she said, of the site that used to draw a wide range of international tourists. "We had this campsite, we had another one, and we've lost it all. We have nothing."

Madrid regional authorities said they were planning to restore the bus service between Madrid and the Villamanta area close to the fires, and allow farmers to return to feed their animals.

Scientists say climate change is making extreme weather events more frequent and intense.

Sanchez directly blamed global warming on Monday, describing the fires as "the most painful expression of a climate emergency".

"This is no longer an exception, this is a rule itself," he added during a meeting in Madrid.

Sanchez is due to visit a fire-hit area in Valencia, in the east of the country where firefighters are battling a separate blaze and 15,000 more people have been evacuated.

The fires in the Iberian country have affected an area of 77,000 hectares (190,000 acres) -- nearly the size of New York City -- according to the authorities.

Since the start of the year, fires in Spain have ravaged 150,000 hectares and killed 13 people, according to Sanchez.