Spain holiday warning: Popular destinations including Malga and Cadiz start preparing for wildfires as summer nears

Popular holiday destinations in Spain including Malaga and Cadiz are preparing for wildfires ahead of the summer season. According to Sur in English, the Spanish army's UME (emergency response unit) is undergoing training exercises from Monday to Friday (17 May) this week to prepare.

The exercise will involve 349 soldiers and 30 fire engines, and six supply trucks, among other resources. It will also be supported by aircraft from the Spanish Air Force and the Army's own emergency helicopter unit acting together. The newspaper reports that they will be located in Las Navetas in Ronda, in Cadiz at Celemín reservoir, the Conil coastline, El Retín military training area, the bay of Algeciras and Tarifa.

 In a press release, UME reported that the exercise will involve manoeuvres with fire engines, as well as demonstrating the possibility of working in all types of terrain. Other scenarios will include directly attacking a fire and tackling a forest fire that is nearing an urban area. 

The training comes after intense wildfires rocked the country last summer, and more recently a forest fire burned in eastern Spain on Monday 15 April with around 180 people evacuated. Local media said the fire broke out in the rural municipality of Taberna, in southern Valencia.

An academic told NationalWorld that the risk of wildfires in many popular destinations in Spain will be “higher than usual” this summer as areas are currently under long term drought. Professor of wildfire science at Swansea University, Stefan Doerr, told NationalWorld that “many areas in Spain in particular are under long term drought, which means that wildfire risk (which is always high in the Mediterranean in the summer) is likely to be higher than usual in many popular destinations in Spain.”

He urged holidaymakers to be aware of this before they book their summer holidays. Professor Doerr said: “Wildfires are a common occurrence in all Mediterranean areas during the summer season and one should not be surprised if a fire affects a holiday through smoke, closures of roads and airports, or even evacuations. Smoking, barbecues and open flames should not be used in any areas close to vegetation.”