Restrictions in 44 municipalities due to 'very high to extreme' risk of wildfires

A total of 44 municipalities in southern and northeastern Catalonia have awoken to restrictions this Friday due to what authorities consider to be a "very high to extreme" risk of wildfires.

This comes only days after water restrictions were introduced in a number of these cities and towns because of the drought.

Placed in level 3 of the 'Pla Alfa' wildfire prevention plan, this means high-risk activities are automatically banned.

This includes smoking on forest land, free camping, torch blowers, disc grinders, hot air balloons, and hunting in these areas.

The authorities have also closed off access to four protected natural areas to prevent fires.

Three are in southern Catalonia's Terres de l'Ebre region, the Tivissa-Vandellòs mountains, the Els Ports massif, the Cardó-Boix massif, while the Cap de Creus peninsula is in the northeast, just south of the Spain-France border. 

Catalonia is in the midst of an almost 3-year drought, and the high temperatures coupled with the lack of significant rainfall over the past few months have compounded the risk of wildfires.