Fire in Baix Ebre: maximum tension to protect the ports from the flames in the face of a wind shift

Barcelona / TortosaHeFire that has been burning in Baix Ebre since Monday has already burned some 3,137 hectares of mostly forested land, according to provisional data from the Agents Rurals, and has confined 18,000 people. The strong wind that blew during the night, with sustained gusts of 90 kilometers per hour, has complicated attempts to contain the fire, which is still burning out of control andFirefighters don't expect to be able to stabilize the blaze until at least tonight. The situation this afternoon is extremely tense, and the goal is to prevent the flames from spreading rapidly into Els Ports Natural Park, where 1,112 hectares have already been affected, given the wind change expected in the afternoon.

Although The forecast is that the gusts will ease, which would favor the general extinction of the fire, the entry of the marsh will also modify the direction of the wind, threatening the Els Ports area. "If the fire enters, it will have many negative consequences," warned the deputy director of the Fire Department, Francesc Boya, in statements from the control center in Tortosa. "It would put the fire in a natural area of high ecological value and would pose significant operational difficulties due to the lack of access," he added, painting a picture "with many more hectares burned, with great difficulty and, therefore, a long period of time." In fact, the firefighters' main concern right now is that the change in wind could force the fire into Els Ports "towards an area that is still green," available for burning, Boya added in statements to Catalunya Ràdio.

Hours earlier, also from Tortosa, Fire Chief David Borrell highlighted the "violence" with which the wind blew during the night, when it went from 28 or 30 km/h to 90 and made the tasks to try to control the left side of the fire "extremely" difficult. The tasks in the early hours of Tuesday, in fact, have focused on trying to prevent the opening of the fire on the road between Paüls - the town where it started - and Xerta from crossing the Ebro. The mistral wind caused the flames to jump to Tivenys at night, the first town affected by the fire located on the other side of the river, but the firefighters have so far managed to prevent the fire from advancing towards the Cardó mountain range, a main priority along with the protection of Els Ports.

More than 300 firefighters and some 250 members of the Military Emergency Unit (UME)—requested by the Generalitat at the request of the Fire Department—are working on the blaze in "very difficult, precarious, and harsh" conditions, Borrell admitted. "If we're lucky, we'll be able to stabilize it overnight. I don't think so before then because we're working under many difficulties," Boya later agreed.The marina is expected to begin pouring in around 2 p.m., which should facilitate the work of the firefighting teams. "The sole and exclusive priority is to stabilize the fire," stated the President of the Generalitat (Catalan government), Salvador Illa, at a press conference in Tortosa.

Call for caution: "People should stay put."

Pending this change, it has been decided to maintain almost all of the lockdowns already declared this Monday, affecting around 18,000 people. The towns under lockdown in Baix Ebre are Paüls, Aldover, Xerta, Alfara de Carles, Tivenys, Roquetes, the EMDs (decentralized municipal entities) of Bítem and Jesús, and the Reguers neighborhood of Tortosa. The municipalities of Pinell de Brai and Prat de Comte were added to the Terra Alta area this Tuesday, where the lockdown is currently municipal, but no longer home-based.

Interior Minister Núria Parlon admitted that it won't be until tonight that an assessment will be made of whether the strictest lockdown measures will be lifted or relaxed and called for maximum "prudence and caution. "There are many hours of work left," she warned at a press conference from the command center. She urged the confined population to respect the measure and the rest to "avoid travel," especially given the possibility that the wind could alter the path of the flames.

So far, evacuations have been limited to some farmhouses and areas such as the Toscar neighborhood of Alfara de Carles. Among the personal injuries reported, only four people suffered minor injuries, apart from a firefighter who suffered heat stroke, while some structures were damaged. "My solidarity with the affected residents. We are following the instructions and exercising caution," wrote Spanish President Pedro Sánchez in a message on the social network X.

The mayor of Paüls: "We fear the change in wind direction."

Following the news closely, the night has been long on the ground, starting with the village of Paüls, where the fire started. The municipality has been completely isolated, although the mistral wind has pushed the fire in the opposite direction to the town center. Mayor Enric Adell said: "The fear is that, with the wind change direction expected at noon, the situation could turn around. We are concerned that, depending on how the garbinada [the southeast wind, coming from the sea] blows, the fire could spread toward the town, toward the Ombries and the Valley, which is an area."

For the time being, inhabited farmhouses in the municipality have been evacuated as a precaution, and the villagers have been asked not to access the country houses. He warned. Logistics management has been complicated by the drop in mobile phone coverage, although, for the time being, telematic communication is maintained thanks to the Internet and radio frequency networks

As a result of the fire, several roads in the Baix Ebre region have been closed, starting with the one to Xerta in Paüls, where firefighters are working intensively. The T-301 from Tortosa in Tivenys is closed in Santa Rosa de Lima. From Bítem, however, traffic is still possible toward Tortosa. The T-342 road is closed from Reguers to Alfara, where access is restricted. The C-12 between Jesús and Xerta is also closed. However, traffic is still possible from Jesús to Tortosa.

Heavy deployment due to the risk of simultaneous fires

In addition to the 300 firefighters and 100 UME personnel, personnel from the Forest Fire Reinforcement Brigades (BRIF), which report to the Spanish government, and volunteers from the Forest Defense Groups are also assisting in the fire. Also involved are a dozen aerial vehicles, two seaplanes from the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, and at least one UME bomber. And the president of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has offered the Generalitat (Catalan regional government) firefighting equipment from the region. Beyond the difficulties in controlling the fire, the large deployment is due to the desire to have all available resources in case of simultaneous fires.

Another fire in Perelló

Meanwhile, another fire is affecting a forested area in Puig Moltó. Firefighters received the alert at 4:30 a.m. from a point near the N-340 highway, next to Perelló. From there, a column of white smoke was visible, and firefighters dispatched seven crews to address the blaze.

After approximately an hour of work, firefighters managed to surround the fire, and the helicopter completed its airdrops. However, given the dense forest in the area, they expect to have to work for a "very long time."