Firefighters battle two new wildfires

Firefighters in Catalonia are battling two wildfires burning from Saturday afternoon.

One blaze is active in Santa Coloma de Queralt, a municipality in the Conca de Barberà county, in the southern region of Tarragona.

As of 10:20 pm, the wildfire had already burned down 1,000 hectares of land, mostly fields, and it was thought to have the potential to affect 5,000 hectares.

The municipality of Bellprat and a neighborhood in Piles were confined.

Nearly 50 firefighter teams and 12 aerial units are working to put out the flames.

A separate wildfire was first reported at 5.32 pm in Ventalló, a municipality in the Alt Empordà county, in northern Catalonia, and firefighters hope to stabilize it by Sunday morning.

More than 30 teams and 8 aerial units are battling the flames.

🔴 ACTUALITZACIÓ (24/07, 21h)#IFSantaColomaQueralt afecta una superfície provisional de 336 hectàrees.
167,5 ha corresponen a terreny agrícola, 164 ha a terreny forestal i 4,5 sòl urbà.
📍 Bellprat: 225,5 ha
📍 Les Piles: 67 ha
📍 Santa Coloma de Queralt: 43,5 ha pic.twitter.com/PHI27ssWCD

— Agents Rurals (@agentsruralscat) July 24, 2021

According to the latest update by Catalan authorities, there were eight roads cut due to the wildfires: the GI-624 in Ventalló, the GI-623 in Saus, the GIV-6311 and the GI-631 in Vilopriu, the T-201 in Santa Coloma de Queralt, the C-241d in Sarral, and the BV-2201 and the B-220 in Bellprat.