Catalonia wildfires: conditions differ as one ‘worries’ and another ‘hoped’ to be stabilized

Major wildfires continue to rage in Catalonia after breaking out on Wednesday amid unseasonably warm temperatures. Firefighters continue to battle blazes in western and southern Catalonia, with authorities hoping to stabilize the latter in the upcoming hours. But hope in the southern one appears with the possibility of stabilizing the blaze overnight.

There are two in the west, in Baldomar and Castellar de la Ribera, which as of Thursday evening have already affected around 2,000 and 400 hectares respectively, as well as one near the southern town of Corbera d'Ebre, which has also affected 400 hectares. 

Of the 2,000 hectares affected in the Baldomar fire, some 940 are estimated to have burned as of midday on Thursday. 

Wildfire in the Solsonès county

The fire in the central county is, right now, the most worrying wildfire in Catalonia as June 16’s evening approaches. Firefighters are concerned that if it cannot be controlled any time soon, it could burn "tens of thousands of hectares."

The Catalan fire department is getting ready for the critical hours to control the wildfire as heat could determine its fate. Firefighters hope to have the fire stabilized by 10pm on Thursday night. 

Currently, there is a larger fire with dozens of smaller blazes around that could start burning again after the light strike storm recorded on Wednesday night and the registered unseasonably warm temperatures. 

However, once the heat diminishes, the fire department hopes they can assess if they can be able to limit the wildfire burning area or not. 

One of the neighbors, Pilar Jané, has 72 years and lives in a farmhouse in Castellar de la Ribera. The fire reached her house doors and she extinguished it throwing water. 

"I was really scared. I suffered that the fire could burn down my house, my chickens, and my rabbits," she said to the Catalan News Agency (ACN). 

The memory she has of one of the biggest blazes in 1998 seen in central Catalonia, which burned down 25,000 hectares, was her first thought at the time.

"It reminds me a lot. I thought the fire would burn it all," Jané explained.  

Hope in Terra Alta county’s fire

The wildfire in the southern county of Terra Alta could be stabilized during the night, or at least that is what firefighters hope. 

The vast majority of the area has been stabilized with no new fires appearing. Authorities are "quite optimistic" as the head of the blaze is also moving toward fields, however, the critic point is a long forest located in the same direction the wind is blowing. 

Some of the neighbors, such as Nick Shaw, who have seen the fire endanger their homes, did not learn about the wildfire until he saw the helicopters. He was not worried at first, but then the blaze was so close that he thought "it could be good to go," Shaw said to ACN. 

"I know I could learn faster than the flames, but with another wind, it could have reached here," he added. Firefighters "have a very good aim" when dropping water from the helicopters, he pointed out. 

One flank to go in Artesa de Segre wildfire

The eastern flank of the fire has been stabilized, but the western side is proving to be more difficult to access on account of the terrain. Authorities warn that this wildfire could spread over 5,000 - far fewer than the 20,000 they initially feared. 

The western flank is currently where officials are focusing their efforts to avoid the fire reaching the Sant Mamet hill, as the potential could be even higher. 

New fire in central Catalonia

On Thursday afternoon, authorities confirmed a new wildfire in the central county of Bagès. At the time, there were twelve terrestrial deployments and three aerial ones from the firefighters' brigade. However, these latter ones were landed soon after.

The blaze started in some fields next to a road that goes from Artés to Sallent. After the fields, the fire moved to a small forest nearby.

Some of the farmers helped authorities clean the area to make sure the flames can be stopped on time.  

Evolució favorable de l'incendi de vegetació agrícola a #Sallent. #bomberscat hi continuem treballant amb 12 dotacions terrestres, retirem #maer. Agrair la tasca dels tractors que han llaurat al flanc dret i n'han evitat l'obertura i @sfadfcat. pic.twitter.com/YjCJJsvgvE

— Bombers (@bomberscat) June 16, 2022

It was one of the most worrying fires as well, as it "could extend to the Llobregat county," Joan Ignasi Elena, the Catalan interior minister said during a press conference. 

Avoid other fires

Elena urged citizens to make sure that the rest of the territory does not suffer any other major wildfire. If so, it would complicate the emergency services operating in the already burning blazes. 

Joan Delort, the head of Catalonia's Firefighters Corps (Bombers) described the heatwave and lack of rain over the past few months as "the perfect storm" fueling the fires.

There are over 130 crews and 400 firefighters working to put out the three fires, while assistance from another 12 units from a military base in Zaragoza, as well as from locals with tractors, has been requested.

Firefighters from the neighboring region of Aragon, the Pyrenean microstate of Andorra, and the Barcelona area have also been called in to help.  

En aquest VIDEO RESUM PODREU FER EL SEGUIMENT DELS INCENDIS SIMULTANIS QUE HI HA A CATALUNYA #EEI pic.twitter.com/EwhPDjfTS7

— Bombers (@bomberscat) June 16, 2022

High minimum temperatures and extreme drought

The fires broke out on the very day that the Catalan interior minister was giving an overview of this summer's forest fire management campaign, which will involve more than 5,000 professionals, 40 aircraft, and 16 drones.

Around 1,200 ground vehicles are available to put out forest fires, while the 40 aircraft include 24 helicopters, ten surveillance and attack aircraft, and two seaplanes.

"We are facing one of the toughest and longest campaigns in recent years. For a long time, we have seen little rain and extraordinary heat, and now we have very high minimum temperatures and extreme drought," Joan Ignasi Elena explained at the event at Sabadell Airport, just north of Barcelona.

"We had a dry winter, on top of another winter," Elena warned, increasing the risk of fires. 

As of June 16, 27 of Catalonia's counties have a higher risk of wildfires due to high temperatures and low humidity levels. 

A total of 285 forest fires have already been recorded this year up to June, burning 607 hectares of forest, the highest figure since 2012.

From January 1 to June 12, firefighters worked on 2,748 incidents, higher than during the same period in 2021 (2,272 incidents), 2020 (1,207) and 2019 (2,343).