Vall d'Uixó fire enters fourth day with 8,500 hectares burned and a narrow weather window before a new heatwave

The wildfire that started on Saturday in La Vall d'Uixó (Castellón) entered its fourth day on 28 July 2026 with about 8,500 hectares burned and a 72-kilometre perimeter. Confinement was lifted for the entire town of La Vall d'Uixó at 08:00 on Tuesday, allowing the 6,000 residents evacuated from four neighbourhoods to return home on Monday evening. Evacuation and confinement orders remain in force for the rest of the affected municipalities until 23:59 on 28 July, with a new Cecopi meeting scheduled for 10:00 to reassess those measures.

Scale of the fire and affected population

Approximately 10,000 people remain evacuated from 15 municipalities and one hamlet: Aín, Alcudia de Veo, Alfondeguilla, Tales, Eslida, Vilavella, Artana, Sueras, Villamalur, Torralba, Ayódar, Fuentes de Ayódar, Chóvar, Azuébar, Almedíjar, and the Artesa district of Onda, as well as urbanisations in Betxí. About 500 residents are being housed in facilities in the neighbouring towns of Onda, Segorbe, Nules and Moncofa. Overall, the fire has affected 80,000 people, including 16,000 evacuees and 65,000 residents confined in La Vall d'Uixó (32,000 inhabitants), Onda (25,000) and Betxí (5,700). A device is being prepared to allow the return of elderly residents evacuated from a care home in La Vall d'Uixó.

The fire is active, it is neither stabilised nor controlled.

Firefighting operation and overnight conditions

The overnight period was meteorologically calm, with light land breezes and downslope winds of 10 km/h, humidity near 80% (above 90% in mountain areas) and temperatures around 20°C on flat ground and 18°C in the sierras. These conditions produced thermal inversions in the lower layers from nocturnal radiative cooling, which Aemet warned could cause poor visibility and air quality in the fire zone during the early morning. Aerial resources resumed work in the morning, with a window of opportunity of 2 to 4 hours expected.

The operation involves more than 400 ground personnel and 25 aerial assets. The regional government has deployed 21 Forest Firefighter units from the three Valencian provinces (12 from Castellón, 5 from Valencia, 4 from Alicante), comprising 17 ground units and 4 heli-transported units. Since Monday afternoon the fire has no longer been beyond extinction capacity. The director of extinction, Raúl Gil, noted that on Sunday at the same hour crews were "practically running behind the fire, and today that is no longer the case," with the operation now "much better positioned and working on specific points."

Critical sectors and road closures

Firefighting efforts are concentrated on the towns of Tales and Alcudia de Veo to prevent flames from advancing. Vigilance has been especially intense in the Eslida area, the Montí sector, and the Montserrat urbanisation in Betxí, where both aerial and ground resources are defending homes. Nine roads remain cut in the fire zone: CV-2223, CV-2224, CV-200, CV-203, CV-205, CV-215, CV-219, CV-223 and CV-230.

We are constantly positioning ground units to defend the houses.

Weather window and next steps

Teams are working against the clock and with "moderate optimism" to stabilise the blaze before a new heatwave forecast for Wednesday. The previous afternoon, aerial resources had been grounded until 15:30 due to thermal inversion trapping smoke. A new Cecopi meeting at 10:00 on Tuesday will evaluate whether confinement orders can be lifted in additional municipalities. The Guardia Civil investigation indicates the fire was started by non-natural causes. The Sierra de Espadán natural park remains under threat.