Pedro Sánchez announces that "we are closer to bringing the fires in Madrid and Ávila under control" and that the next 12 hours will be "crucial" for consolidating the fire-fighting efforts

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has announced that the situation regarding the fires in Ávila and Madrid "continues to be favourable" and "we are closer to bringing the fires under control", although he urged "utmost caution," as containment and cooling operations continue to prevent flare-ups in areas where the fire has already been stabilised "The next 12 hours will be crucial in consolidating the work carried out by the National Civil Protection System," emphasised Pedro Sánchez, warning that a new heatwave and changing wind conditions could worsen the situation.

The head of the Executive travelled to the Forward Command Post in Navalcarnero (Madrid), where he attended the meeting of the State Coordination and Management Committee for the State Emergency Plan (CECOD), chaired by the Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska. He also held a meeting with the heads of the emergency and coordination teams working in the areas affected by the fires, to whom he conveyed the "deep gratitude" of all public authorities and society as a whole for their "extraordinary work".

Speaking to the media, Pedro Sánchez pledged that the State "will provide all the necessary resources" for the reconstruction of the affected areas and recalled that the Council of Ministers had approved the declaration of the area as one seriously affected by a civil protection emergency, so that the process of providing all the aid required by local residents could begin immediately.

He also reiterated the need for a State Pact to tackle the climate emergency, issuing a fresh appeal "to all public institutions, all political parties and all social groups", because "in doing so, we will not only be providing a unified response to serious disasters such as wildfires, but we will also be acting beforehand, in prevention, and subsequently, in the reconstruction phase".

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, with members of the emergency and coordination teams working in the areas affected by the fire | Pool Moncloa / Fernando Calvo

The president noted that "we currently have ten active forest fires in Spain" and pointed out that operational level 3 remains in force in Madrid and Ávila, meaning that these areas are now under the responsibility of the Government of Spain's National Civil Protection System. In this regard, he emphasised that this is the first time we have been at Level 3 of the national emergency response in the fight against wildfires, and that "the collaboration between all the institutions has been very positive" and the response "is proving efficient thanks, above all, to the team spirit shown by all the authorities, in the knowledge that our only adversary is the fire, and that our top priority is to save lives, protect communities and defeat the fire.

The president also called on citizens who are still in lockdown or have been evacuated from their homes to show "patience, understanding and trust in the institutions". "Our priority is your safety and saving lives" and, of course, ensuring that you can return home with "the utmost assurance". "There are no political decisions here, only decisions backed by science and experts," he emphasised, whilst expressing his confidence that, in the coming hours, more evacuees would be able to return to their homes.

Pedro Sánchez used his press conference to once again thank the media for their work, which is "vital in emergencies such as this, particularly in providing accurate information and combating hoaxes and disinformation, which only serve to cause anxiety, mistrust and great vulnerability amongst those affected".

Non official translation