Overview

• Spain has deployed an additional 500 Military Emergencies Unit soldiers, raising the total to about 1,900 troops battling fires during a prolonged heatwave.
• The EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated to send water-dumping planes from France, Italy and the Netherlands to reinforce aerial firefighting capacity.
• The European Forest Fire Information System reports that more than 158,000 hectares have burned in Spain this year, with Galicia’s Ourense province among the hardest hit.
• Spain’s Interior Ministry says 27 people have been arrested and 92 are under investigation for suspected arson since June, highlighting efforts to determine fire causes.
• Smoke from Iberian wildfires has drifted into the UK, causing haze and vivid sunsets, and high-speed Renfe services between Madrid and Galicia remain suspended.