Wind complicates firefighters' effort to tackle wildfires across Catalonia
Over 2,000 hectares burned by Baldomar blaze and 40 hectares by Olivella fire in Garraf massif
Weather conditions are complicating firefighters' efforts to tackle wildfires across Catalonia. After several days of extremely high temperatures, strong winds are now a major concern.
The largest fire is in Baldomar, Artesa de Segre in western Catalonia, where – as of Saturday afternoon – over 2,000 hectares of land have burned since the fire broke out on Wednesday. The area includes 1,700 hectares of woodland and 300 hectares of arable farmland.
The emergency services say they are most worried now about the wind that has started to pick up.
Catalan interior minister, Joan Ignasi Elena, warned earlier that Saturday would be "as hard a day" as the previous ones, due to the widespread nature and sheer number of wildfires breaking out simultaneously.
The head of support for the Catalan fire brigade, Miquel López, said that Saturday was a "key" day in their attempts to prevent the Baldomar fire expanding beyond an 8,000-hectare area they have mapped out.
Catalan government delegate Bernat Solé said that they are braced for the impact that the south wind could have on the fire.
Due to the weather conditions, the blaze will not be stabilized on Saturday, Solé said, and it will be difficult to do so on Sunday too.
He thanked firefighters and other emergency services for their "huge effort" made, especially on Saturday morning when maximum air and ground resources were deployed, some 70 crews, including 13 aerial crews.
Olivella
The fire service was alerted to a fire in Olivella, in the Garraf massif, south of Barcelona, at 13.07pm on Saturday. As of 4.30pm, 40 hectares of land has been burned.
Police and the fire brigade have told residents in Cal Surià and Can Mitjans in the neighboring municipality of Avinyonet del Penedès to remain indoors with windows and doors shut to avoid breathing in smoke.
The fire service has deployed 34 ground crews and 5 aerial crews to tackle the latest blaze.
López confirmed that the Baldomar blaze remains the priority for the fire brigade, despite the wildfire that has broken out in Olivella.
All in all, the fire service was dealing with around 30 separate wildfires on Saturday afternoon.
LLadurs fire stabilized
The Catalan fire service declared on Saturday morning that the forest fire in Lladurs, Solsonès has stabilized.
Confirmation that the blaze was on under control eventually came early on Saturday, several hours later than anticipated.
Nearby wildfires in Altés, Castellar de la Ribera, Peramola and Cabó have also stabilized, as well as the fire in Corbera d'Ebre in southern Catalonia.
As for the other three wildfires in the Solsonès area, the fire in Ogern was brought under control on Friday evening, the one in Altés has also stabilized after burning 15 hectares, as has the one in Siuró. It burned 350 hectares and is expected to remain under control throughout Saturday.