Fire near the Costa Brava: 45,000 residents urged to stay home

More than 200 firefighters were mobilized Friday to fight the blaze, joined Saturday by some 400 Spanish soldiers and around 400 additional firefighters, supported by ten firefighting aircraft. About 200 members of military emergency units were deployed as reinforcements. The Catalan fire service set the objective of fully bringing the disaster under control before the wind changes direction. Residents in the area were instructed not to enter the perimeter of the disaster zone.

Due to the density of the smoke, authorities asked some 45,000 residents of ten municipalities located east of Girona not to leave their homes. Emergency services also carried out the evacuation of 150 people, including 70 children from a summer camp. Four smaller secondary blazes were each being fought by at least one hundred firefighters.

Emergency mobilization and instructions to the public

Pedro Sánchez expressed Friday on the X network his "concern" about the situation and called on the population to exercise caution "given the high temperatures forecast in the coming days." Spain is, according to climatologists, among the countries most affected by the consequences of global warming. Last year, forest fires destroyed nearly 400,000 hectares of vegetation in the country and caused the deaths of eight people, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.

Spanish authorities reported that a man had been arrested, suspected of having started the fire "by using an angle grinder at the roadside," according to the Catalan police. The investigation is continuing to determine the exact circumstances of the outbreak.

A major fire ravages northern Portugal

At the same time, neighboring Portugal is facing another major fire that has been ravaging the north of the country since Wednesday. The blaze, which started in the municipality of Vouzela, in the district of Viseu, has already destroyed approximately 10,000 hectares of vegetation, said civil protection commander Mário Silvestre. On Saturday, nearly 1,000 firefighters, supported by 380 vehicles and eight aircraft or helicopters, were mobilized to try to contain the flames. At least nine people have been injured in connection with this fire.

Portuguese authorities decided Friday to activate the European civil protection mechanism as well as bilateral agreements with Spain and Morocco in order to obtain reinforcements. Luís Montenegro justified this decision by explaining that it aimed to "ensure operational availability, in case we have to deal with several incidents simultaneously" — a scenario deemed "highly probable." He specified, however: "Not because our capabilities would already be exhausted, but because, in the current situation, our entire national territory is exposed to very high risk."

The scale of the fires in the Iberian Peninsula recalls past tragedies. In 2017, more than a hundred people died in fires in Portugal. Once again this year, Portugal is preparing for a high-risk summer, with high temperatures and persistent drought.

Impact on daily life

On the Spanish front, aerial operations were disrupted Friday due to wind and smoke, complicating the task of pilots. Catalan authorities reported a relative improvement Saturday morning, with the fire partially brought under control, but warned against any relaxation, as the weather in the coming days could favor a flare-up of the flames.

Confined residents were urged to keep doors and windows closed and to avoid any physical exertion outdoors due to poor air quality. Several schools in the affected area remained closed as a precaution, and health authorities recommended wearing masks for vulnerable people, particularly the elderly and those suffering from respiratory problems.

Emergency services set up temporary reception centers in gyms and municipal buildings in neighboring municipalities to house evacuated people. Farmers in the region, particularly worried, fear for their olive groves and vineyards, already weakened by several years of drought.

Spain's civil protection service recalled that almost the entire national territory remained exposed to very high fire risk during the summer period. It recommended avoiding any outdoor use of fire and immediately reporting any suspicious column of smoke to emergency services.

A suspect arrested in Catalonia

Regional rail companies suspended some services to municipalities located near the perimeter of the disaster zone, as a precautionary measure. Road detours were also put in place, complicating traffic in an area usually very busy at the start of the summer holiday period.

Catalan authorities specified that an advanced command post had been set up near La Bisbal d'Empordà in order to coordinate all the resources deployed, both ground and air. Units specialized in fighting major fires, coming from other regions of Spain, were expected during the day on Saturday.

Spain facing the fire risk

The situation remained evolving on Saturday evening, with firefighters still mobilized due to a wind change forecast for the coming hours, which could alter the trajectory of the flames.

The two fires, in Spain and Portugal, illustrate the increased vulnerability of the Iberian Peninsula to heat waves and drought, phenomena that scientists largely attribute to climate change. European authorities said they were closely monitoring the situation and ready to activate additional resources if the situation were to worsen.

Several NGOs and environmental protection associations called Saturday for strengthening prevention and forest management policies, noting that the frequency and intensity of forest fires in Mediterranean Europe have increased markedly over the past decade.

The Interior Minister announced the opening of an in-depth investigation into the causes of the fire, alongside the legal proceedings already underway against the suspect arrested by the Catalan police. Authorities intend in particular to verify compliance with the fire-use restrictions in force in the region.

The European Commission indicated Saturday that it remained in close contact with Spanish and Portuguese authorities, and that it was ready to mobilize, if necessary, the European aerial firefighting fleet, as well as additional civil protection modules.