MADRID, July 24, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - At least 19,000 people in the Madrid region have been evacuated or ordered to remain indoors due to wildfires that have become the worst in the region's history, regional president Isabel Diaz Ayuso said on Friday.

The fires in the densely populated area around the Spanish capital have burned around 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres), Ayuso told reporters.

She said that while an area of this size being burnt in other, more rural regions "would not be considered so significant", in Madrid "with such a high concentration of homes and people, it is a catastrophe".

Around 100 people have been treated for minor cases, mainly smoke inhalation or anxiety attacks, while at least 43 homes have been destroyed, Ayuso said.

"The situation is completely unusual and catastrophic," she said, adding that the priority was "to save lives".