Spain Wildfires Trigger National Emergency as UK Holidaymakers Risk Losing Money if They Cancel Trips

Spain has burned 300,000 acres this year, exceeding its decade average of 250,000 acres. (Satellite view) (Credit: Contains modified Copernicus data 2026, processed by ESA)

Spain has declared a national emergency over wildfires burning in parts of Madrid and Ávila, with tens of thousands moved out of their homes and at least one person dead. British travellers watching the pictures and thinking about pulling out of a booking should know that the Foreign Office has not advised against going, which in most cases leaves the cost of cancelling with the traveller rather than the operator.

The fires are not confined to Spain. More than 300,000 people have left their homes across Spain and France combined, with the worst of it across Gironde and Landes in the French south west, near Bordeaux.