Around 2,500 people confined as wildfire spreads near Cubelles, Barcelona
A wildfire that broke out near Cubelles, Barcelona, on Saturday afternoon led to the confinement of about 2,500 residents across several urbanizations, with fire crews battling flames amid extreme fire risk across Catalonia.
The fire and confinement
A wildfire ignited in vegetation near Cubelles, Barcelona, at around 16:20 on Saturday, 25 July. Residents called the 112 emergency line after spotting flames, and the Generalitat's fire service, Bombers, dispatched initial units. By late afternoon, Civil Protection sent an ES-Alert to mobile phones ordering the confinement of the affected residential areas. The alert, issued at 17:28, instructed people to stay indoors, close doors and windows, and follow authority guidance.
Approximately 2,500 people in the La Costa Cunit urbanization in Cunit and the sectors of Trencarroques, la Creu, and Cal Candi in Castellet i la Gornal were told to shelter in place. Neighboring urbanizations Mas Tarder I and II and Les Estoreres also received the alert, though the confinement order was directed at the zones closest to the flames. No evacuation reports had been issued as of Saturday evening.
Firefighting response
Firefighters mobilized quickly, with 25 ground units and 8 aerial assets, including four planes and four helicopters, joining the operation. Over 50 personnel worked to contain the blaze, which had two active fronts. The response grew from an initial deployment of about 10 ground units and a single helicopter, reflecting the fire's rapid spread under mistral wind conditions. The terrain and high temperatures kept the risk elevated across Catalonia, where 195 municipalities in 19 comarques were under an extreme wildfire warning.
- Fire reported near Cubelles, first ground and aerial units dispatched.
- ES-Alert orders confinement of ~2,500 residents in urbanizations.
- Deployment scales to 25 ground units, 4 planes, 4 helicopters.
- Separate fire near Perafort, Tarragona, stabilized by Bombers.
Regional risk and other incidents
Catalonia remains under high alert for forest fires, with access restrictions to natural areas including Montmell-Marmellar, Montsant, els Ports, Cardó-Boix, Tivissa-Vandellòs and Prades. The mistral wind, typical of the Mediterranean, was forecast to persist through Sunday, keeping propagation risk very high, especially in western and southern parts of the region.
Separately on Saturday, the Bombers stabilized a vegetation fire near a refinery in Perafort, Tarragona. That blaze, which affected agricultural land, did not threaten the refinery. Meanwhile, Civil Protection also activated the Inuncat flood plan for the Garrotxa and Selva comarques in Girona due to forecasts of intense rain in the northeast and central-southern coast, underscoring the volatile weather across the territory.
