Wildfire in Barcelona's Collserola park burns 25 hectares and confines 15,000 residents

Emergency response and containment

The fire ignited around 15:20 on Tuesday in a zone of scrubland near the carretera Alta de Roquetes, adjacent to the Canyelles neighborhood in Barcelona's Nou Barris district. Flames advanced uphill toward the northern perimeter of the Parc Natural de la Serra de Collserola in the direction of Sant Cugat, generating a thick smoke column visible across the capital. According to provisional assessments from the Agents Rurals, the blaze burned approximately 25 hectares of forest terrain. Barcelona City Council activated the alert phase of its municipal forest fire action plan, coordinating municipal crews with regional forces. By 17:30, the joint operation involved 39 firefighting units: 14 from the Barcelona Fire Department and 25 from the Bombers de la Generalitat. The regional deployment comprised 19 ground units, specialist GRAF tactical teams, and six aerial resources, including water-bombing aircraft and helicopters. Crews concentrated their primary suppression efforts on the right flank to prevent the fire from spreading deeper into the park.

Confinement orders and traffic restrictions

Proteccio Civil activated the Infocat emergency plan in alert phase and dispatched direct ES-Alert messages to mobile phones across northern Barcelona. The order established a preventative confinement for nearly 15,000 residents across the Torre Baro and Ciutat Meridiana neighborhoods. Authorities instructed residents to stay indoors, seal windows and doors, and avoid traveling toward the fire zone to leave access routes open for emergency vehicles.

Close doors and windows and do not go out into the street. In case of emergency, call 112.

Emergency switchboards at 112 recorded 380 emergency calls by 15:45, eventually registering 1,074 calls as the plume spread across the northern skyline. To facilitate rapid access for emergency convoys, the Guardia Urbana closed three key transit arteries: the road connecting Horta with Cerdanyola del Valles, the Collserola Cemetery access road, and the carretera Alta de Roquetes. City authorities also issued official warning notices to all adjacent municipalities surrounding the Collserola range.

Local resident response in Torre Baro

Hillside residents in Torre Baro experienced dense smoke as shifting winds pushed the plume down toward residential properties. Following recommendations from municipal officials and neighborhood associations, local residents used garden hoses to wet the perimeter of their properties. Emergency crews instructed construction workers burying cables along Llerona street to shut down heavy machinery immediately to keep access roads clear.

It is the first time we have been confined because of a fire.

Local resident Luis Bonilla noted that Guardia Urbana patrol vehicles drove through the neighborhood using sirens and megaphones to urge people to remain indoors. Another resident, Isabel Cano, who confined herself with her mother, explained that she initially mistook the smell of smoke for nearby neighborhood barbecues before seeing the plume rising above the ridge.

Collserola wildfire history

Tuesday's incident is the second forest blaze recorded in the Collserola mountain range during August 2026. On 14 August, an intentional fire in the Sant Pere Martir area burned approximately 10 hectares of woodland and forced the preventative confinement of residents in the Can Caralleu neighborhood. The Guardia Urbana subsequently arrested a suspected arsonist in connection with that earlier incident. During Tuesday's operations, the Agents Rurals also enforced precautionary biosecurity protocols regarding African swine fever across the natural park area.