Spain declares an emergency after wildfires force evacuations of 10,000 people

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s government declared a national emergency Friday after multiple wildfires forced the evacuation of some 10,000 people in the central region of Madrid.

The measure means that Spain’s interior ministry, which control police and security forces, has taken charge of overseeing the firefighting efforts by Spain’s regions.

The regional government of Madrid, which spans a wide area around the capital city, said 10,000 people have been evacuated from different villages as fires rage out of control amid a heat wave that is fanning the flames.

Spain has seen over 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) already burned this year, including its second-largest ever fire that consumed some 32,000 hectares (79,000 acres) in recent days in the province of Guadalajara. Thirteen people were killed in a fire in southern Spain earlier this month.