Wildfire near Sant Quirze Safaja burns 97 hectares, forces evacuations and road closures in Catalonia

A wildfire that ignited on the afternoon of 15 July 2026 in Sant Quirze Safaja, in the Moianès region of Barcelona, rapidly spread to consume 97 hectares of mostly forested land. The blaze, reported at 15:09, forced emergency services to evacuate the l'Illa campsite and the Can Micaló youth camp house, while ordering the confinement of homes in the Pla de la Casanova area, the Masblanc rural hostel, and the La Rovineta property. The fire also crossed the C-1413b road, which was subsequently closed to traffic between Centelles and Sant Martí de Centelles.

Emergency response and firefighting deployment

Firefighters from the Bombers de la Generalitat deployed a substantial operation, with 53 ground and aerial units and around 140 personnel working to contain the flames. The aerial fleet included four bomber planes, six surveillance and attack aircraft, four command helicopters, and a large-capacity plane from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition. Crews concentrated their efforts on the fire's left flank, which, pushed by a westerly wind, posed the greatest risk of spreading into numerous nearby ravines where the fire could intensify on an upward slope. The right flank advanced downhill at a slower speed. By 20:30, the fire was reported as stabilized, though 51 units remained on the scene to extinguish it completely.

51 dotacions segueixen a la zona per apagar les flames.

Evacuations and confinements

Approximately 30 people, including children and monitors from the CRAE-sanatorium Puig d'Olena residential educational centre, were relocated by their own means to the Centelles sports pavilion and later accommodated in Hostalets de Balenyà. The occupants of the l'Illa campsite were moved to the Sant Quirze pavilion, while those at the Can Micaló camp house were preventively transferred to another facility in Aiguafreda. Authorities also ordered the confinement of several scattered houses and rural accommodations in the municipalities of Sant Quirze Safaja and Sant Martí de Centelles.

Fire origin and a parallel arson investigation

The fire broke out near the perimeter of a previous blaze that had scorched the same area in late June. Of the total burned area, 37 hectares lie within the Cingles de Bertí natural area. Meanwhile, in Querol, Tarragona, another fire that started at 13:53 remained active, and the Mossos d'Esquadra were searching for a suspected arsonist linked to three other fires in the Aiguamúrcia area in less than two weeks.

Extreme heat context

The wildfire unfolded during Catalonia's third heatwave of the summer, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in some locations. The combination of extreme heat, dry conditions, and wind created a high-risk scenario that saw multiple simultaneous forest fires across the region on Wednesday.