Electrical fault at Spanish PV plant sparks 800-hectare forest fire
2025Published 31 Oct 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
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What happened
In June 2025 a forest fire burned roughly 800 hectares of pasture, crops, holm oak forest and scrubland near Casas de Don Pedro in Badajoz province, Spain. According to SEPRONA, the Civil Guard's nature protection service, forensic inspection found that the fire started in a box that overheated the solar panel tracking system at a photovoltaic plant in the Las Trescientas and Navalallegua areas. The fire spread rapidly because of high temperatures and gaps in the plant's implementation of the Extremadura Forest Fire Prevention Plan (PREIFEX).
Authorities declared a level 1 hazard because isolated homes and livestock facilities were nearby. About a dozen residents reported damage to government offices. Firefighters deployed four helicopters, two small planes, a seaplane, 15 fire trucks and crews, and Civil Guard patrols, bringing the fire under control after roughly four hours.
Contributing factors
Weather conditions, including high temperatures, accelerated the spread of the fire. Gaps in the plant's implementation of the regional fire prevention plan were cited as allowing rapid spread.
Lessons learned
- Electrical enclosures on tracker systems need regular thermal inspection and maintenance, because overheating in a box can ignite surrounding vegetation.
- Vegetation management and firebreaks around solar sites must be implemented in full and checked against the regional fire prevention plan.
- Operators of sites near homes and livestock should agree response arrangements with local fire and civil authorities before a fire occurs.
More lessons on maintenance, inspection and ageing assets, from every incident on the register.
Published 2026-10-31. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
