Forest fire in Huesca burns over 1,000 hectares and forces evacuation of 240 residents

Cause and early progression

The fire started around 11:30 on Thursday 25 June between Tamarite de Litera and Alcampell. Spain's central government delegate in Aragón, Fernando Beltrán, confirmed that a spark from an agricultural machinery vehicle, combined with the high temperatures and the amount of dry fuel on the ground, triggered the blaze. Within hours the flames had spread across more than 1,000 hectares, driven by the intense heatwave affecting the region.

“The spark from an agricultural machinery vehicle, along with the high temperatures and the amount of fuel already in the mountains, caused the fire.”

Evacuations and road closure

The local government ordered the preventive evacuation of three villages: Azanuy (180 residents), Alins del Monte (5), and Calasanz (55). A total of 240 people were moved; those from Azanuy were taken to a sports centre in Monzón, while the residents of Alins and Calasanz were relocated to Peralta de la Sal. Later, as the fire advanced north, the village of Fonz received a confinement order via the ES-Alert system. The road A-2216 between Peralta de la Sal and San Esteban de Litera was cut to traffic.

Azanuy180

Alins del Monte5

Calasanz55

Azanuy

180 people

Alins del Monte

5 people

Calasanz

55 people

Data from the article text

Firefighting deployment

A large multi-agency operation was assembled. The Infoar firefighting service of the Government of Aragón deployed five heliborne brigades, four land brigades, four fire engines, a technical director and two advanced command posts. The Ministry for Ecological Transition sent three amphibious aircraft, a FOCA plane, a reinforcement brigade from Daroca, and an air tractor bomber stationed in Lleida. The Catalan government also contributed a bomber plane. In the afternoon, the Military Emergency Unit was mobilised, with its reconnaissance and first intervention team departing from Zaragoza.

“We are attacking the fire from the air with 12 aircraft, from helicopters to aeroplanes of the Government of Spain, the Government of Aragón, the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Army Air Force.”

Political response

President of the Government of Aragón, Jorge Azcón, travelled to the advanced command post set up at the football field in Alcampell, alongside the regional councillor for the environment, Luis Biendicho. Azcón described the situation on social media, noting the difficulty of the work due to extreme weather conditions. A CECOPI crisis committee meeting was convened for 20:00 at the 112 emergency centre in the Pignatelli Building.

“Weather conditions extremely complicate the extinguishing tasks.”

Risk context

Aragón had 25 zones on red alert for wildfires this Thursday as the first summer heatwave pushed temperatures well above seasonal norms. The fire follows other recent incidents in the region, including fires in Ayerbe, Barbastro, Bello and Alcañiz (the latter stabilised after burning 85 hectares). The combination of extreme heat, low humidity and dry vegetation made the La Litera blaze the most challenging of the day.