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The wind affects the progress of the wildfire disrupting life in Madrid and Ávila
The wildfire affecting the western mountains of Madrid and the province of Ávila continues to shape the weekend for tens of thousands of people. The fire’s progress depends largely on the wind, a factor that can either help the firefighting teams or make the situation worse within hours.
During the night, emergency services took advantage of more favourable weather conditions, with less wind and higher humidity, to slow the advance of the flames. Comunidad de Madrid has kept a large support operation deployed, with healthcare resources, psychological support and monitoring, while insisting that the public avoid approaching the affected areas and follow the instructions of response teams at all times.
The impact is felt especially in the municipalities of Madrid's western mountain range, where thousands of residents continue to face evacuations, confinement and mobility restrictions. In the province of Ávila, concern also persists about the development of the various fire fronts, as authorities continue to monitor the risk that they may draw closer together and further complicate firefighting efforts.
The situation has also changed the plans of those intending to spend the weekend at reservoirs, in the mountains or in nearby recreational areas. Many access routes remain restricted and authorities recommend postponing any journey that is not essential, in order to avoid interfering with the operation and reduce risks to the public.
The next few hours will be decisive. Although lower night-time temperatures have made it possible to partially contain some fronts, forecasts point to new gusts of wind that could reactivate the fire's behaviour and require the firefighting strategy to be continually adapted.
The emergency continues to disrupt daily life on both sides of the mountain range. Roads with restrictions, villages awaiting official instructions and a landscape covered by smoke reflect an exceptional situation that is still far from being considered resolved. The evolution of the wind will continue to set the course of a fire that remains one of the greatest concerns of this summer.