Ilayda Cakirtekin
18 August 2025•Update: 19 August 2025
ISTANBUL
The Iberian Peninsula is still battling widespread wildfires on Monday as the total death toll rises to six, with four in Spain and two in Portugal.
Spain is battling more than 40 active wildfires, with two-thirds concentrated in the Castilla and Leon region, according to the daily El Pais.
A high-speed line between Madrid and Galicia has been suspended for five consecutive days, while 16 roads are closed.
In an interview with broadcaster Cadena SER, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said that their Military Emergency Unit has never seen a fire situation like this in "its 20 years of existence."
Fires in Spain have burned around 346,000 hectares (854,000 acres) in eight months, the worst figure since 1994, broadcaster RTVE reported, citing the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).
Spain’s meteorological agency Aemet has issued a red alert for certain regions, with temperatures expected to reach 44C (111F).
The country's Daily Mortality Monitoring System (MoMo) recorded over 4,000 temperature related deaths in 2025 with 931 just in August.
In Portugal, provisional official data showed that by Aug. 18, wildfires had scorched 185,753 hectares (459,100 acres), surpassing the total area burned in all of 2024, daily Diario de Noticias reported.
As some fronts of the ongoing wildfires across the country began to subside, the city of Covilha on Monday issued a new alert, warning that the fire remains out of control.
More than 80 municipalities are still at maximum risk of fire, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
Due to heightened fire risk, the government has extended the state of special readiness at level 4, along with the alert status in effect since Aug. 2, until Wednesday.
