Madrid wildfires advancing more slowly but remain “uncontrolled,” authorities say

The wildfires tearing through the landscape just west of Madrid advanced more slowly overnight but remain “active and uncontrolled,” Spanish authorities said this morning.

The slower pace of advance allowed firefighting teams to battle the flames, and they identified three fronts, with the most active one located in the hills just north of the San Juan Reservoir, which contain several hiking trails and local beauty spots.

About 15 kilometers south of that hotspot, some elderly residents will be allowed to return to their care home in the town of San Martín de Valdeiglesias, said local official Francisco Martín Aguirre, the Spanish government’s delegate in Madrid.