Fires near Madrid are slowing and evacuated residents begin returning Monday

The fires that destroyed large areas of forests west of Madrid began to slow down overnight, according to what local authorities announced Monday, at a time when some evacuated residents are expected to begin returning to their homes during the day.
The regional government in Madrid said, “The situation has improved slightly, but the fire is still active,” calling on residents to take the utmost caution.

Intense work

Low temperatures and high humidity allowed firefighters to fight the fire that broke out on Thursday. Emergency services in the Madrid region said on the “X” platform that their teams spent “a night of intense work with the aim of stabilizing the fire,” warning that the strong winds expected on Monday will complicate firefighting efforts.
The fires caused the evacuation of about 75,000 people from various parts of Spain, including the Madrid region, Avila, west of the capital, and Toledo, to the south, in addition to the Castellón region of the Valencia region, to the east.

Francisco Martín Aguirre, representative of the central government in the Madrid region, told reporters late Sunday that the authorities intend to reopen a camping site from which 4,500 people were evacuated, and will also allow the return of residents of a nursing home in another area near the capital.

New flashpoints

Aguirre stressed that “the fire is not yet under control,” stressing, “I would like to point out that new flashpoints have been detected on the eastern front.”
However, the same official confirmed that bus service between Madrid and the Villamanta region near the fires would resume, with farmers also being allowed to return to feed their livestock.

Difficult hours

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said at the weekend that the country was facing “difficult hours,” while citing signs of progress in fighting the fires.
Sanchez is scheduled to visit the Castellon region on Monday, where fires have displaced 15,000 people.