Spanish authorities have lifted all evacuation and confinement orders across Ávila province as the Burgohondo wildfire, now deemed the largest in Spain's history at 50,000 hectares burned, stabilised on Wednesday. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska announced from Navalcarnero that residents of more than a dozen evacuated towns could return home, noting that fires in Ávila and Madrid are technically stabilised.
The blaze destroyed over 70,000 hectares in total and has triggered a criminal investigation. Civil Guard agents arrested the owner of the excavator believed to have sparked the fire. Investigators say sparks from the machine's chain ignited dry vegetation while workers were clearing a livestock path in the Gredos mountains. The machinery was operating despite an extreme fire-risk ban imposed by regional authorities and lacked required permits and safety equipment.
Both the owner and the operating company face charges of forest fire and environmental crimes.