Speaking during a visit to the command post in Ávila on Sunday morning, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said that while “difficult hours” lay ahead, there had been some good news on containing the fire.

“We’re facing some difficult hours, although it’s true that the latest update has shown that last night was very positive in terms of the fire’s evolution and efforts to control it,” he said, the Guardian reported. “We’ll see what happens today, but I’d once again like to urge people to take huge care and to stay up to date.”

Sánchez pointed out that Spain and neighboring Portugal were experiencing the varied consequences of the climate emergency, from fires and heavy snowfalls to storms. “The entire Iberian Peninsula is suffering the effects of the climate emergency in a very specific way,” he added.

Speaking to the BBC, the EU commissioner for crisis management, Hadja Lahbib, said: “Last year, one million hectares burned during the summer and so we are expecting to face another historical, sad record because the season has started earlier in the year.”