A massive wildfire in Spain is raging out of control and nine towns are now under lockdown.
A massive wildfire in Spain is raging out of control and nine towns are now under lockdown.
Firefighters in Spain have issued a “stay home” warning as wildfires rage. A massive wildfire in Spain is raging out of control and nine towns are now under lockdown.
The fire has devastated more than 2,000 hectares in Tarragona in the north of the country and strong winds in the area continue to make the task of the firefighters difficult. The Spanish army’s emergency response unit said it had deployed overnight near the northeastern city of Tarragona to assist local authorities.
The blaze has devoured “around 2,377 hectares of land, mostly forest,” countryside rangers in the Catalonia region wrote on X. The national civil protection authority urged residents in the area to close their doors and windows and stay home, saying that around 18,000 people were affected.
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“Since midnight, firefighters have been battling the blaze with gusts of wind reaching up to 90 kilometres per hour (56 miles per hour),” Catalonia’s regional firefighting service said.
“(There has been) a lot of fear and a lot of crying because we are already on the edge of the fire. Last night, because of the wind that was blowing the fire and the smoke, we couldn’t leave our house. Terrible, this has never been seen before,” Rosa Veleda, 76, said.
The fire started in Paüls, in an area known as “the ravine of hell”. 2,000 people are on lockdown across Paüls, Xerta, Aldover and Alfara de Carles, all of them in the Ebro area of Tarragona, in the Ports natural park.
Other areas impacted include Tivenys, Roquetes, Jesús, Bitem, Prat de Compte, Pinell de Brai and a neighbourhood of Tortosa.
Residents from the village of Xerta told The i Paper they watched in terror as flames encircled their homes overnight, saying “the flames were very loud – you can’t see how far away they are in the dark”.
David Borrell, the regional fire inspector, said in a statement that gusts of wind reached up to 90kph (56mph) overnight. “We have been working all night in a very precarious, very hard way, and we have been protecting the population,” he added.
Severe Weather Europe says: “Significant heat will expand into central Europe by mid-week and continue into early July 2025.
“Drought conditions are worsening, and wildfire threats are gradually increasing.”