Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Three fires in five days. All three started in the municipality of Aiguamúrcia, in Tarragona, and just a few kilometers apart. The last one, which forced the evacuation of four residential areas and the confinement of more than 2,000 people, was declared stabilized late Monday afternoon after burning about 142 hectares. Shortly after, Protecció Civil authorized the return of all evacuees.
The Mossos d’Esquadra and the Rural Agents are investigating the highly suspicious origin of the fires to identify the alleged arsonist. The Interior Minister, Núria Parlon, stated that they are working on this hypothesis and that for this reason, surveillance was also reinforced around the fire perimeter and in the evacuated residential areas to prevent thefts.
The Bombers de la Generalitat faced a new day of simultaneous fires this Monday. To the one in Aiguamúrcia, Tarragona, was added the one declared at noon in Lladurs (Lleida), which forced a reassessment of the strategy regarding aerial resources to try to ensure that none of them exceeded the extinguishing capacity.
The fire affected 142 hectares, mostly forest, and mobilized seventy units and 200 Bombers personnel
In the case of Aiguamúrcia, which the Bombers were able to declare stabilized at dusk, two flare-ups were recorded inside the perimeter during the morning that did not increase the burned area. The sub-inspector of the Rural Agents, Antoni Mestre, said the fire affected 142 hectares, mostly wooded forest area, of which 20 in Aiguamúrcia, 40 in Pontons, and 80 in Querol.
The Bombers, who deployed seventy units and more than 200 personnel, worked on a perimeter of about 8 kilometers and by early afternoon already had 95% stabilized, although a critical area with difficult access and several hot spots remained. Given this situation, the Bombers intensified surveillance to prevent any detected column from growing.
To do this, they used highly mobile resources, such as the Active Prevention Teams (EPAF), specialized in working with manual tools and personnel deployed throughout the perimeter to be able to attack the fire forcefully. Additionally, in this fire, the Bombers requested the collaboration of farmers to plow the fields on the right flank sector to prevent flare-ups.
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The fire did not affect any urbanized area nor was any column detected in the afternoon that could pose a danger to the population centers that had been evacuated preventively in the morning –Ranxos de Bonany, Can Llenas, Cal Joan de la Costa, and Cases de Romanill, in Querol– with the expectation that by nightfall the nearly 220 affected residents could return to their homes.
In a press briefing, Parlon indicated that both the Mossos and the Rural Agents were working with the hypothesis that the fire was caused deliberately, a hypothesis taken for granted on the ground. “It is very strange that on a day like today –this Monday for the reader– with lower temperatures, this fire, which could be very large, occurred,” said the mayor of Aiguamúrcia, Òscar Sendra. Notably, the fire, which started on Sunday, had the potential to burn up to 2,000 hectares.
Protecció Civil maintains alerts
Protecció Civil keeps activated the Procicat plan alert for intense heat and intense nighttime heat and the Infocat plan for the high risk of forest fire, given the forecast of temperatures that could reach 38 and 39 degrees in several parts of Catalonia, especially tomorrow. For today, a decrease in forest fire danger is expected, but on Wednesday the situation will worsen significantly again, with potential for large fires to exceed 500 hectares. The areas of greatest concern are Noguera, Solsonès, the surroundings of Cardona, the interior of Pla de Lleida, and Central Catalonia. The Bombers de la Generalitat maintain operational reinforcement in all emergency regions, with risk level 5 out of 6 in the Center, southern Lleida, and Terres de l’Ebre, and 4 out of 6 in the rest.
During Monday night, the evacuation of the four residential areas was planned and organized as a precaution, and the reception area was set up at the Casal de Vila-rodona. Its mayor, Josep Comas, explained that in addition to about sixty people, 62 dogs and cats were also accommodated. The mayor of Querol highlighted that the evacuated residential areas in her municipality had properly maintained fire safety strips.
Other fires joined this one, the most important being the one in Lladurs, Lleida, with a burning potential of 400 hectares. The Bombers received the alert at 12:45 p.m. and activated 70 personnel, with 23 ground units and six aerial resources, prioritizing closing the left flank of this fire, which forced the closure of the Lladurs to Timoneda-Santa Eulàlia forest track. The fire was declared stabilized at 5:50 p.m., but the firefighters continued working in the area with 14 units.
