Wildfires Are Already Reaching Cities: This Summer's Emergency

This summer, major wildfires have struck central Spain, with fires active in the Madrid region and the province of Ávila that have forced thousands of people to evacuate or shelter in place, and have even threatened critical infrastructure near the capital. Spanish authorities are calling it one of the most complex wildfires the country has seen in recent history.

This isn't an isolated case. In recent weeks, wildfires in Portugal, France, and Greece also forced entire neighborhoods to evacuate, in some cases reaching right up to the edges of cities like Thessaloniki. The pattern repeats in country after country: longer summers, dry vegetation piling up, and cities that have grown right against the woods. This guide covers what you can do, in three stages: before, during, and after.

Why the Risk Is No Longer Just a Forest Problem

Three factors are reshaping fire risk in many parts of the world:

• Rural depopulation leaves more dry vegetation piling up near towns and developments.
• Heat waves are longer and more frequent, pushing the fire season earlier and stretching it later.
• More people now live in the wildland-urban interface: neighborhoods, developments, and industrial areas built right against forest or scrubland.

If your home, your workplace, or your parents' house sits within a kilometer of forest or scrubland, this guide is for you, wherever you live.

Before: What to Prepare Months in Advance

Prepare Your Home

Most houses don't burn because a wall of flame reaches them. They burn because a single ember lands on something flammable pressed against the wall. Cut that risk:

• Clear a strip of at least 5 meters (about 16 feet) around the house of dry vegetation and stacked firewood.
• Clean gutters and roofs of dry leaves before the heat sets in.
• Move gas canisters, firewood, and other flammable items away from exterior walls.
• Water the garden near the house on high-risk days.
• Keep a hose long enough to reach around the house, plus a full bucket as backup in case the water supply fails.

Build Your Emergency Kit

Different from a general disaster kit. Prioritize this:

• Important documents in a waterproof folder.
• Smoke masks (FFP2/FFP3 or N95, whichever is sold where you live), one per person.
• Water, a flashlight, and a battery-powered radio.
• At least three days' worth of any regular medication.
• Long-sleeved cotton clothing and closed shoes, not synthetic fabric.
• Cash and a charged power bank.
• Leash, carrier, and food if you have pets.

Keep this kit in the trunk of your car through the high-risk months. If you only have ten minutes to leave, you won't have time to pack.

Track the Risk in Real Time

• Official fire risk maps: most national weather services publish a daily wildfire risk index. In Europe, the EFFIS system provides a 6-day forecast for the whole continent.
• Satellite hotspot maps, available through several free platforms that send email or push alerts when a fire is detected near your location.
• National mobile alert systems: check whether your country has one. They work by geolocation and don't require an app — just having your phone on in the affected area.

Set Your Evacuation and Family Communication Plan

• Map out two different exit routes from your home in case one is blocked.
• Set a meeting point outside the risk zone, plus a backup further away in case the first one is also affected.
• Agree with your family on who checks in with whom if there's no signal.
• Keep your car's fuel tank at least half full all summer long.

A major wildfire is almost always accompanied by evacuations and local communication outages, as has already happened in several towns around Madrid and Ávila. If you don't have the full plan yet, check out our urban evacuation guide and our family communication plan; they're built to work together with this one.

During: If Fire Approaches Your Area

• Don't wait for an official evacuation order if you see the fire moving fast toward you. Leave before it's called.
• Close doors and windows to slow embers and smoke.
• Take down curtains and move flammable items away from doors and windows.
• Fill bathtubs, buckets, and sinks with water before the supply is cut.
• Shut off the main gas valve.
• If smoke is thick, stay low and cover your nose and mouth with a mask.
• Grab your emergency kit and leave by the route you already planned. Don't stay behind to save belongings.
• If you get trapped in your car, close the windows and vents, and pull as far away from vegetation as you can.

After: Returning to the Area

• Don't go back until officials confirm the area is safe.
• Check the structure before entering: smoldering embers, gas smell, downed power lines.
• Air out the house before staying inside for long periods; smoke leaves particles behind even without visible flames.
• Photograph any damage for insurance before moving or cleaning anything.
• Confirm water and electricity are safe before using them normally.

Preparedness Doesn't Depend on Having Signal

Real-time maps and alerts help, but in a major emergency the mobile network gets overloaded or goes down, as has already happened in several towns around Madrid and Ávila. Your evacuation plan, your kit, and the routes you already know by heart are the only things that always work, with or without coverage. Get ready now, while the sky is still clear.

This guide covers wildfires only. If you want preparation for other scenarios (power outages, communication failures, earthquakes, heatwaves and cold waves), find more content on our site and download the complete citizen preparedness guide.