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Sixteen municipalities in Madrid experience coverage outages due to wildfires
Active wildfires in the Comunidad de Madrid are causing phone coverage problems in 16 municipalities. The outages are especially affecting the southwest of the region, where residents, evacuees, and municipal services are having trouble making calls, connecting to the internet, or receiving updated information.
Villa del Prado, San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Pelayos de la Presa and Rozas de Puerto Real are among the worst-affected localities. The incidents are not the same everywhere: some areas are suffering complete outages, while in others the signal comes and goes depending on the network and operator.
The loss of connectivity complicates an emergency in which the telephone is essential. Many families use it to locate evacuated people, check changes to roads and buses or receive instructions from town councils and civil protection teams.
Telecommunications companies have begun mobilising mobile units to reinforce the signal. One of the first teams has been installed in Cenicientos, while the deployment of portable transmitters and satellite connections is being considered in places where the conventional network cannot yet be restored.
The main obstacle is access to damaged infrastructure or infrastructure without electricity supply. Some antennas are close to the areas affected by the flames, and technicians can only intervene when the emergency managers consider it safe to enter.
The Community is maintaining joint monitoring with the operators to locate areas without service and prioritise the most sensitive points. Residences, shelters, clinics and municipal facilities need stable connections to coordinate transfers and assist the population.
While outages continue, it is recommended to save battery, avoid unnecessarily long calls and use text messages when the network is saturated. It is also advisable to download maps, documents and important phone numbers in advance if a connection is available.
The emergency leaves towns where something as ordinary as sending a message or checking a route has become uncertain. Restoring coverage will be key so that residents and public services can communicate normally again, although timeframes will continue to depend on how the fire develops.