The Advanced Command Post, from where the evolution of the fire is controlled and all decisions are made to try to stop it, is like a small village that has grown in the middle of an industrial park.
This small village is like a medieval town. Life and the houses are organized by guilds. We have the Civil Guard and the National Police, of course the UME, which is the one in charge and has the most vehicles and tents installed in this little town, the Red Cross, the Firefighters of the Community of Madrid, Civil Protection, Summa 112 and also a few common areas, which serve as the town square (the dining room) or the town hall (the CECOPI). There is also the Government delegate in Madrid, CSIC staff… It is like a mix of many institutions and organizations.
During the day this is a hive of activity that can be seen from the small viewpoint, a tent actually, where cameras and reporters are set up. As night falls, the intensity decreases, the lights go out and a few stay on guard while others go to the common dining room to discuss the day or plan what needs to be done the next day.
This Tuesday dawn is perhaps the calmest since the hell broke loose in the provinces of Ávila, Madrid, and Toledo last week. It could be a night of hope because it is the first one where temperatures have really dropped. The wind seems to have given a small respite and even some citizens have been able to return to their homes.
However, the calm is tense due to the whim of a number: 30-30-30. This is how some CSIC specialists, the Spanish National Research Council, define the worst conditions for fighting the fire.
Read more Cover of EL MUNDO on Tuesday, July 28, 2026
More than 30 degrees temperature, less than 30% humidity, and winds over 30 km per hour. A new heat wave is expected from Wednesday lasting until the weekend and precisely the 30-30-30 will come with it. However, there is no data yet to know if it will have a negative impact: “We do not know how the heat wave will influence,” admit some PMA experts.
Of course, there is no need to be pessimistic because the wind could blow strongly, but in the direction of what has already burned, so the fire front would hardly spread. However, alas! if that front is fed by a wind blowing towards what is still untouched, along with heat and lack of humidity, extinguishing will become very complicated again.
At this command post, near midnight already, the last CECOPI meeting has ended, that kind of town hall mentioned earlier where the heads of all the represented organizations meet together to coordinate, analyze the situation, and continue planning how to tackle this situation. Shortly after the meeting ends, you can still see the top officials of the Civil Guard of Madrid with the security and emergencies counselor, members of the armed forces, police, or doctors, sometimes together and sometimes separately, all of them continue working and thinking that this Tuesday are the last hours they have until the heat wave arrives. It is a race against time that today still seems very difficult to win.”