Two wildfires break out in southern Catalonia, forcing town into lockdown

Two wildfires broke out simultaneously in Priorat, a region in Tarragona, southern Catalonia, on Thursday evening. 

One of the fires broke out near the town of Cabacés, in a hard-to-reach area near the Montsant natural park. Strong winds made efforts to control the fire more difficult, but the intensity fell during the night, helping authorities work "effectively" with water vehicles and hoses. 

The second fire, at Porrera, caused a town to be put on lockdown but the blaze was stabilized on Friday morning after burning though 14 hectares.  

A total of 62 firefighting units, 26 water vehicles, and 191 agents have been working to control the blazes.

For the larger fire at Cabacés, firefighters have been working in an area of ​​111 hectares, the vast majority of it a forested area, and the main objective now is to prevent it from spreading.

On the other hand, 13 crews are working on the Porrera fire, which is surrounded and was stabilized on Friday. 

The firefighters worked hard to avoid two large fires burning at the same time. As a precaution, the town of Porrera was put on lockdown.

Although the fire in Porrera covers a smaller area of 1.5 hectares, its right flank is advancing towards the town, so it was decided to lock it down.

Both fires are burning intensely due to the prolonged drought in the region. 

Authorities warn that the fires could worsen in the coming hours due to difficult terrain and strong winds that are preventing the use of some aerial firefighting resources.