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Months After Devastating Iberian Wildfires, Rural Communities Struggle With Contaminated Water and Lost Livelihoods
Months after massive wildfires scorched Spain and Portugal, rural Galicia is still battling contaminated water, environmental damage, and destroyed homes. Residents face long-term challenges as climate change intensifies extreme fire conditions across the Iberian Peninsula.
Four months after the fires, taxi driver Simon Rodríguez pulls water jugs from the back of his car and says, “The fire broke out on my birthday—and we’re still dealing with its aftermath.”
Although the record-breaking wildfires that swept across Spain and Portugal in August have long been extinguished, residents in rural Galicia in northwestern Spain continue to face severe consequences.
Autumn rains are now washing ash and sediment down the stripped hillsides, polluting water sources, clogging channels, and leaving drinking water unsafe.
“We can’t even shower because the water turns completely black,” said Rodríguez, 33, who delivers drinking water to residents in the municipality of Vilamartín de Valdeorras. “I haven’t showered in two days. We have to wait for the rain to stop.” Locals have been advised since late October not to use tap water for drinking or cooking.
As governments and business leaders gather in Brazil for the annual UN climate conference—where climate adaptation financing is a central theme—communities around the world are calling for more resources to cope with the worsening impacts of global emissions on their homes and livelihoods.
Ash Chokes Natural Water Filters
In Galicia, the intense October rains quickly overwhelmed local “arenéros”—sand traps designed to filter runoff before it reaches streams and reservoirs. With the vegetation reduced to ash, these filters clogged rapidly, making it nearly impossible to deliver clean water to households, said Vilamartín de Valdeorras Mayor Enrique Álvarez Barrero.
“We’ve been here nearly a month removing ash mixed with mud,” said municipal worker Raúl López. “None of us have ever seen a disaster like this—neither my father, nor my grandfather.”
Summer wildfires are common across Spain and Portugal and can even help regenerate local ecosystems.
But scientists from World Weather Attribution say climate change has made the hot, dry, windy conditions that fuel extreme wildfires in the region 40 times more likely.
“What happened here is staggering,” said Cristina Santín, a northwest Spain–based biologist who studies wildfire impacts. “One day you wake up and your entire home region is burning on an unprecedented scale.”
Homes Reduced to Rubble
More than 42,000 people across Spain were forced to evacuate, according to the Interior Ministry. Some returned to find their homes completely destroyed.
“When I came back, it felt as if a bomb had hit the village,” said Susana Fernández González, who returned to her family home in San Pedro de Cansoles, Castilla y León. “Everything had collapsed.”
Smoke from the Iberian wildfires severely impacted local air quality and drifted as far as France, the UK, and Ireland, said Mark Parrington, a senior scientist at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.
Spain’s COAG farmers’ association estimates losses of at least €600 million, with crops, buildings, and livestock destroyed. More than 7,000 beehives were lost—damage that may worsen as bees struggle to find food in burned landscapes.
Wildfire Emissions Hit Record Levels
The fires in Spain and Portugal pushed estimated wildfire emissions in Europe and the UK to their highest level since Copernicus began tracking global emissions in 2003.
Spain is now grappling with how to better manage forests in regions where depopulation has allowed rural areas to revert to unmanaged wilderness.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has acknowledged the need for stronger prevention measures and has vowed to do everything possible to avoid disasters of this scale in the future.
With Galicia’s natural vegetation layer reduced to ash, residents fear years of water shortages ahead, as rainfall rushes into rivers instead of seeping into aquifers.
The ash is also reaching the sea.
“Everyone knows ash is a major problem for shellfish along the coast. This crisis is far from over for us,” said Álvarez Barrero.
In the near term, the burned hillsides will also be unsuitable for grazing.
The municipality plans to use drones to seed vegetation around the arenéros to help stabilize the terrain. Covering roughly 40 hectares will cost around €12,000 ($14,000).
“I think we’re still a long way from overcoming the scale of this problem,” he said.
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
