The Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (Miteco) has released new data this Monday August 31st, revealing just how many hectares have been destroyed by wildfires so far in in Spain this year.
The total area burned so far in Spain in 2026 totals 264,656 hectares from 44 major forest fires.
Surprisingly though, this represents a 30.9 percent decrease compared to the same period last year, when 346,443 hectares had burned, meaning 81,787 hectares less than in 2025.
READ ALSO: Three of EU’s 15 largest wildfires since 2016 occurred in July
Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen expressed her “recognition and gratitude” to all those working to extinguish the fires, including forest firefighters, paramedics, state security forces, and scientists, as well as to regional and local authorities.
She warned, however, that “the fire season is not over” and that the temperature increase forecast for this week, with highs that could exceed 40C, “requires maintaining the highest level of prevention”. “I want to emphasise the need to remain vigilant and continue acting with the utmost caution,” she concluded.
The ministry explained, however, that the data is provisional and said that the final figures will be released “after detailed studies of each fire”, which could alter the total affected area.
Spain was registering worse fire figures than last year at the beginning of summer, with 50,750 hectares burned by July 5th, more than double the figure for the same date in 2015.
Despite the fact that by the end of the summer, fewer hectares have been ravaged by flames this year, Spain has experienced some of its worst wildfires on record.
READ ALSO: How to protect your property in Spain against wildfires
According to the latest data from the General Statistics on Forest Fires (EGIF), which date back to 1961, the three largest wildfires recorded nationwide have all occurred within the last two years.
The fire in Ávila was the largest in the country’s modern history, with around 50,000 hectares burned, the government confirmed.
La Mierla forest fire in Guadalajara, meanwhile, become the second largest wildfire in Spain this century, with over 32,000 hectares burned.
Spain also experienced one of its deadliest blazes when a total of 14 people lost their lives during the Almería fire, earlier on in July.
MITECO reported that its aerial firefighting teams have logged 9,532 flight hours up to August 28th this year. By region, 23.8 percent of these hours were in Aragón; 22.5 percent in Castilla y León; and 9.5 percent in Castilla-La Mancha.
READ ALSO: Spain’s three worst wildfires since 1961 happened in last two years
Three of the EU’s 15 largest wildfires since 2016 occurred this July.
The other one of these was in France near Bordeaux, which was the country’s largest wildfire since 1949, having destroyed more than 38,000 hectares.
A wildfire in Greece’s Evros region in 2023 remains the largest recorded by The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) in the EU since 2016, having burned more than 96,000 hectares.
The next three largest fires all occurred in Portugal, in 2017 and 2025.
