Spain arrests more suspected arsonists amid severe wildfire season
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Twenty-five other people have already been taken into custody this summer in connection with wildfires.
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A helicopter drops water on a wildfire in Larouco, northwestern Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025 (AP Photo/Lalo R. Villar)
Spanish authorities have detained four additional suspects accused of starting wildfires, pushing the total number of arrests this summer to 30. The Civil Guard reported that three of the latest arrests took place in Castille y León, a region in the northwest where flames have already devastated about 40,000 hectares of land. Two volunteer firefighters lost their lives there this week while working to contain the blazes.
One man, arrested on Thursday, is alleged to have caused a fire that destroyed around 3,000 hectares near Puercas de Aliste in Castille y León. Another suspect, detained on Wednesday, is linked to six separate fires set between July 19 and August 3 in Malaga, a southern coastal province. "Some of these fires were started very close to homes," the Civil Guard said in a statement.
🔥 Detenido el presunto autor de seis incendios forestales en la provincia de Málaga. La investigación se inició tras producirse un total de seis incendios desde el día 19 de julio hasta el 3 de agosto en la localidad de Teba, quemándose unas cuatro hectáreas de terreno, ha… pic.twitter.com/EE9ps5b7Rx
— 101TV Málaga (@101tvMalaga) August 14, 2025
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told RAC1 radio that 25 other people have already been taken into custody this summer in connection with wildfires, adding that many of the cases point to intentional acts.
This year's wildfire season is shaping up to be one of the most destructive in decades, with 148,000 hectares burned so far, 87% above the 20-year average, fueled by extreme heat, drought, and strong winds. Castille y León, along with other regions such as Andalusia and the Canary Islands, has been particularly hard hit. Spain's recent history offers grim precedent: the 2021 Sierra Bermeja blaze in Malaga scorched 10,000 hectares and killed a firefighter, while the 2023 Tenerife wildfire burned 15,000 hectares over three months, the worst in the Canary Islands in four decades.
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Officials warn that climate change is intensifying the risk of "sixth-generation" fires, blazes that spread rapidly, generate their own weather patterns, and overwhelm conventional firefighting methods. Spain has invested in prevention, including innovative sprinkler barrier systems and aerial suppression fleets, but the high proportion of human-caused fires, reaching up to 95% in some years, calls for addressing arson alongside environmental factors.
