Three new fires push Catalonia to the limit: "We are in extremely complicated moments"
This afternoon fires have broken out in Sentmenat, Carme and Artesa de Segre and there are thousands confined
BarcelonaThe Generalitat Firefighters have not yet been able to declare the serious fire affecting La Bisbal de l'Empordà since Friday under control, and there are already three new fires burning simultaneously in the midst of a heatwave. The new fires broke out this afternoon in Sentmenat, in Vallès Occidental; in Artesa de Segre, in La Noguera; and in the Anoia region, between the towns of Carme and La Pobla de Claramunt, with at least a hundred firefighters working on each. Authorities have confined around 33,000 people in the south of Igualada and in various towns in the Anoia region, as well as some urbanizations and scattered settlements between Sentmenat and Castellar del Vallès.
The fire department and Civil Protection had already warned that this week was particularly worrying due to the heatwave that arrived in Catalonia on Sunday, which has increased the risk of fire throughout the country with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees in many areas.
"We are coming from a very complicated fire throughout the weekend in La Bisbal de l'Empordà, where we are still working because it is not under control, and during today, due to the severe heatwave and extreme fire risk, we are working on three new fires. We are in extremely complicated times," warned the Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, this Monday afternoon. The minister specified that the fire of most concern is the one in Sentmenat, where 200 firefighters are working and has the potential to burn up to 2,000 hectares. So far, this fire has affected 60 hectares, according to data from the Rural Agents. Parlon and the firefighters explained this from the unified command center in Bellaterra, which they activated to coordinate the response to the three fires burning simultaneously.
Regarding the Sentmenat fire, Civil Protection sent an ES-Alert to mobile phones at 4 p.m. requesting the confinement of the population in the urbanizations of el Farell, Can Gurri, Sant Sebastià de Montmajor, el Balcó de Sant Llorenç, Sant Feliu del Racó, Nord de Castellar del Vallès, and Can Vinyals. In the alert message, residents of these urbanizations and scattered nuclei were asked to close doors and windows, not to go outside, and to follow the authorities' instructions. The head of the Generalitat Firefighters, David Borrell, argued that the fact that the fire is burning so close to these urbanizations is what makes this the fire that worries them the most. In this regard, Borrell admitted that they cannot protect the el Farell urbanization, but assured that they will concentrate its inhabitants in a safe place.
Thousands of people confined in Anoia
Regarding the Anoia fire, Civil Protection has requested the confinement of southern Igualada and several towns in the region due to the forest fire declared in the municipality of Carme, where 100 more firefighters are working to extinguish the flames. In total, it is estimated that 33,000 people are confined. The other affected towns are la Pobla de Claramunt, Vilanova del Camí, Santa Margarida de Montbui, Castellolí, the urbanization les Garrigues, la Torre de Claramunt, and the western part of the Capellades town. According to the Rural Agents, the fire affects about 225 hectares. This is the fire that forces the confinement of more people and the second fire that most worries firefighters. Parlon explained that the main concern is that this fire jumps to el Bruc and crosses the C-15. There is also a risk of pyroconvection, meaning the generation of a pyrocumulus like the one from the Gavarres fire last Friday.
The third in importance is now the Artesa de Segre fire, which the Firefighters have already managed to stabilize. Borrell explained that the concern is less because it started in the upper part of Comiols, with a potential of 500 hectares. If it had started in the lower part, it would have been “horrible,” he said, because the potential impact would have been 100,000 hectares.
Precisely the simultaneity of fires active this Monday in Catalonia has prevented that of the Gavarres massif, which was declared last Friday, from being considered controlled, after three days burning.
