Forest fire in Aiguamúrcia forces 2,500 people into confinement as flames consume 80 hectares in Tarragona
A wildfire that broke out on Sunday afternoon in Aiguamúrcia (Tarragona) has consumed 80 hectares of forest and forced authorities to issue a confinement order for roughly 2,500 residents across five municipalities.
A rapidly spreading wildfire in the Vall de l'Infern area of Aiguamúrcia, in Catalonia's Alt Camp region, has burned through 80 hectares of woodland since igniting shortly before 4 p.m. on Sunday. The Generalitat's fire service deployed a large-scale response as flames advanced at roughly 2 kilometres per hour, pushed by a marinada wind with gusts reaching 28 kilometres per hour.
The emergency response
Firefighters were notified at 3.57 p.m., and by late afternoon the operation had scaled up to 74 ground crews, 11 aerial units, and 200 personnel from the Bombers de la Generalitat. Two high-capacity aircraft were requested from the Ministry for Ecological Transition. Specialised units including the Forest Action Group (Graf) and the Active Forest Prevention Team (Epaf) joined the effort, alongside volunteers from the Forest Defence Groups (ADF).
- Emergency services receive alert of fire in Vall de l'Infern, Aiguamúrcia
- Civil Protection orders confinement of roughly 2,500 residents across five municipalities
- 67 ground crews and 12 aerial units at work; fire estimated at 80 hectares with potential to reach 400
- Response scales to 74 ground crews, 11 aircraft, 200 firefighters; flames jumped T-224 road axis
- Burned area remains at 80 hectares; temperature 32°C, humidity 30%, gusts to 28 km/h
Aerial resources concentrated on two flanks: the left flank, prioritised because it was advancing toward residential areas under confinement, and the right flank, where secondary spot fires were igniting roughly 200 metres ahead of the main front. Efforts also focused on preventing expansion at the fire's tail, near which heavy machinery was being directed to open containment lines in an area of open fields.
Confinement and road closures
At 4.47 p.m., Civil Protection issued a confinement order covering the municipalities and housing estates of Bonany, Valldossera, Mas Bermell, and Can Llenes in Querol; Mas Gassons in Aiguamúrcia; La Llacuna; and Torrelles de Foix. Residents were instructed to close doors and windows, avoid circulation in the area, and call 112 in an emergency. The order is under continuous review for possible expansion.
The Catalan Traffic Service reported a total traffic restriction on the T-244 road between Aiguamúrcia and Querol. The fire had already jumped the first planned confinement axis, the T-224 road, though authorities expect other sections of that route to help halt the flames.
Conditions fuelling the blaze
Weather conditions at the fire site around 6.15 p.m. included a temperature of 32 degrees Celsius, 30 percent relative humidity, a sustained wind of 8 kilometres per hour, and gusts up to 28 kilometres per hour. The combination of heat, low humidity, and wind created what firefighters described as highly favourable conditions for fire spread. Geographic Information System (GIS) calculations indicated that 97.37 percent of the affected area is woodland, with the remainder being scrubland.
The fire is burning with high intensity and in an ascending pattern, pushed by the marinada wind.
Recent fire history in the area
Sunday's fire follows a separate blaze that started the previous Wednesday in Pla de Manlleu, also in the municipality of Aiguamúrcia. That earlier fire has since been brought under control by fire crews. The Vall de l'Infern area, where the current fire ignited, was also the starting point of the Wednesday fire.
Agents Rurals personnel continue working on the ground and with the Aerial Support Group to assess the fire's impact. Preliminary estimates suggest the blaze has the potential to burn up to 400 hectares if containment efforts do not succeed.
