MADRID, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Residents of two towns in the southwestern Madrid region were ordered to remain indoors on Wednesday after a wildfire broke out near a regional road, local emergency services said.
The fire started at around 2:30 p.m. local time (1230 GMT) on the M-510 road in Aldea del Fresno, prompting authorities to confine residents there and in the neighboring town of Villamantilla as a precaution.
The Madrid regional government activated Operational Level 2 of its wildfire emergency plan, known as INFOMA. Strong wind gusts were accelerating the spread of the fire and increasing its intensity, according to the region's forest firefighters.
Twenty ground units and five aircraft were deployed to battle the blaze. Spain's Military Emergency Unit (UME) was also deployed to assist with firefighting operations.
Authorities urged residents to avoid traveling to the affected area and to follow instructions issued by emergency services.
Both towns were also affected by a series of major wildfires that swept through the western part of the Madrid region in late July. ■
