World News
Soldier dies as Aragon mounts the largest firefighting deployment in its history
By Staff Writer | 17 August 2026
A member of Spain's Military Emergencies Unit was killed when his vehicle overturned during work on the Penas de Riglos fire in Huesca, where a thousand firefighters, French reinforcements and up to forty aircraft face a blaze that has spread across 16,600 hectares.
A soldier of Spain's Military Emergencies Unit died on Sunday during work to extinguish the Penas de Riglos fire in Huesca, in the north-eastern region of Aragon, after the vehicle carrying him overturned on the road to Bernues. Three other members of the unit were injured. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
I have conveyed my heartfelt condolences to the lieutenant general of the Military Emergencies Unit (UME) for the death of a soldier in the Penas de Riglos fire
Jorge Azcon, President of the Government of Aragon
Spain's Ministry of Defence said the soldier died in the course of duty and wished the injured a swift recovery. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the leader of the opposition, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, both sent condolences to the soldier's family and colleagues, and Mr Azcon called a minute of silence at the start of Sunday afternoon's emergency coordination meeting.
The largest deployment in Aragon's history
The fire broke out on Monday and has spread across 16,600 hectares in a week of high temperatures and shifting winds, forcing more than 1,000 people from surrounding villages. The regional government describes the response as the largest deployment of resources against a fire in Aragon's history: around 1,000 firefighters including army units, reinforced by 100 French firefighters and between 35 and 40 aircraft.
The flames have come close to the two monasteries of San Juan de la Pena, a symbol of the region whose oldest buildings date from the tenth century. The remains of the first kings of Aragon, kept there, were moved to safety on Thursday.
The regional government reported a night of progress into Sunday, saying firefighters had managed to consolidate a large part of the perimeter. "We're facing the day with optimism, but also with total caution," Mr Azcon wrote.
Andalusia's fire brought under control
In the south, the authorities in Andalusia on Sunday declared a fire that had burned for ten days across the provinces of Huelva and Sevilla to be under control, and allowed more than 400 evacuated residents to return home. The fire's perimeter encloses more than 25,000 hectares, although the regional president, Juanma Moreno, said it was probable that the area actually burned would prove smaller than first estimated, pending analysis.
Spain has had repeated spells of extreme heat this summer, and a fire west of Madrid in late July became the largest in the country's recent history. Aragon's is not yet contained, and the conditions that fed both fires have not broken.