SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
In Spain, crews are still battling fires that broke out last week and have devastated nearly 200,000 acres across the country. Now Spain is bracing itself even more as temperatures are again set to rise to more than 100 degrees starting tomorrow, as NPR's Miguel Macias reports.
MIGUEL MACIAS, BYLINE: It's always been very hot in Spain in the summer. But lately, it's not just the high temperatures; it's how relentless the heat has been. That is why when Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited one of the areas affected by the ongoing wildfires on Monday, he sounded the alarm about the imminent fourth heat wave of the summer.
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PRIME MINISTER PEDRO SANCHEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
MACIAS: Sanchez wanted citizens to be extremely careful and take every measure to prevent more fires. It's been a long few days. The low point was Saturday night when several fires were reported to be completely uncontained. Sunday and Monday did bring some progress. Two of the main fires burning were partially contained. But now on the eve of yet another heat wave, there is concern that progress may be undone. The wildfire in the region of Avila, which started last Wednesday, is now the largest on record in the country. It's also described by authorities as the most aggressive ever.
In the region of Castellon in eastern Spain, another fire is not under control and has been burning for four days. And speaking about the fire in the province of Madrid, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said Monday that crews were working around the clock.
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FERNANDO GRANDE-MARLASKA: (Speaking Spanish).
MACIAS: "Planes are flying as late as 10:00 p.m. and as early as dawn, dumping water on the flames," Marlaska explained, "using every available hour to get ahead before the heat comes back."
But the numbers are already devastating. So far this year, more than 400,000 acres have burned in Spain. That is more than six times the amount devastated last year. Over 70,000 people have been evacuated from fire zones. Meanwhile, a different battle is being fought behind the scenes over the role of climate change in these devastating fires. Prime Minister Sanchez has put this front and center during the wildfire crisis this summer.
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SANCHEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
MACIAS: And today, he warned his opponents...
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SANCHEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
MACIAS: ...That climate denial is the worst fuel for this climate emergency. And if there is one leader that has turned into Sanchez's nemesis, that is Isabel Diaz Ayuso, the conservative president of the region of Madrid, where one of the fires is raging outside the capital. She is an outspoken climate skeptic and accuses Sanchez of abdicating responsibility by emphasizing the role of climate change in the fires.
ISABEL DIAZ AYUSO: (Speaking Spanish).
MACIAS: "There are so many causes for these wildfires that giving a single answer to everything means you don't want to take responsibility for anything," Ayuso said. There are many factors at play in fact. In Ayuso's own region and in others, many rural firefighters are fired and rehired every year, rather than working on long-term contracts. Some of them have been in labor disputes with Ayuso's administration recently.
And another key factor - an abundance of dry vegetation that is prone to catch fire if not cleaned up. And after heavy rains in the past years followed by extreme heat, it has been challenging for landowners to keep up with cleaning and preparing their land for the threat of fires. Political leaders do agree that something needs to be done to prevent future wildfires. What they don't agree on is the best way forward. Miguel Macias, NPR News, Seville, Spain.
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