Wildfire in southern Catalonia stabilized after burning 3,300 hectares

The wildfire that has been burning in southern Catalonia for the past two days has now been stabilized, firefighters confirmed by midday Wednesday.

Emergency crews managed to fully contain the perimeter of the Baix Ebre blaze just hours after announcing that 90% of the area was under control.

They achieved full stabilization after tackling two remaining hotspots in rugged, hard-to-access terrain.

As a result, stay-at-home orders have been lifted in all of the affected towns. By midday, most of them did not have any orders, except for Paüls, which was dangerously close to the fire zone. At 7 pm, the order was lifted.

Joan Rovira, head of operations for the Catalan firefighters, urged the public not to let their guard down.

"Stabilization is just the first phase. The fire is neither controlled nor extinguished, it simply means the perimeter is no longer expanding,” he said.

Hours after his first statement, Rovira said that they are expecting to control the fire during Thursday, but they will need how the two hotspots evolve, he told journalists around 7:30 pm from Tortosa, where the Paüls wildfire brigade temporary headquarters are located. 

Storm could change situation

Rovira emphasized that there is still "a lot of work ahead." During the afternoon, around 30% of the units will leave the area and return to their bases, including Spain's UME military team, which will leave at 8 am on Thursday, after "a little bit more of help tonight."

Firefighters spent the afternoon consolidating the stabilization efforts and ensuring that no flare-ups occur.

The head of the firefighters in the area explained that the forecasted storm "brought some humidity, but not a lot of water," however, aerial units had to land due to low visibility.

"During the night, we will work with drones to identify, using thermal cameras, the hotspots," Rovira explained, as this way it will help the brigades tackle specific areas.

"We are not in a hurry," he concluded.

Stay-at-home orders

The good news was warmly welcomed by the 18,000 residents who had been confined to their homes for the past two days and can now finally go outside.

The orders were in place in the towns of Paüls, Xerta, Alfara de Carles, Aldover, Tivenys, Roquetes, and several neighborhoods of Tortosa.

Restrictions requiring residents to remain within their towns in Prat de Comte and Pinell de Brai have also been lifted.

At midday, firefighters noted that the stay-at-home order for Paüls residents was less about immediate danger and more due to heavy firefighter traffic in the area.

The two main roads near the wildfire, the C-12 and the C-43, have fully reopened after being partially closed since the fire began.

Night brings major gains

Nearly 500 firefighters had worked on the blaze throughout Tuesday to Wednesday night.

Favorable wind conditions overnight helped firefighters prevent the fire from spreading into the Ports natural park, a scenario that could have pushed the burned area up to 18,000 hectares, the worst-case projection.

The wildfire, which broke out on Monday morning, has already scorched 3,321 hectares of forest, with one-third of the area inside the Ports natural park.

With this blaze, this wildfire season has already become the most devastating in the past 12 years, with over 9,000 hectares burned and the entire summer season still ahead.

To learn more about Catalonia’s wildfire strategy, the history of its firefighters, and how they prepare to tackle fires, listen to the podcast below.