Spain: Wildfire Near Costa Brava Prompts Town Confinements, Army Deployed

A significant wildfire erupted Friday morning near La Bisbal d'Empordà, close to Girona in northeastern Spain, forcing authorities to confine more than a dozen municipalities along the popular Costa Brava coastline. The fire, which started in the morning, has been intensified by strong winds, generating a thick plume of smoke that prompted the lockdown orders.

David Borrell, the head of Catalan firefighters, described the situation as challenging, stating, "The difficulty is that the fire will not be static." Over 200 firefighters, supported by eleven aerial units, are engaged in extinguishing the blaze. Firefighters have urged residents of Barcelona, who typically visit the coastal region for weekend getaways, to postpone their travel plans to facilitate the operations.

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The difficulty is that the fire will not be static.

Given the worsening conditions due to the wind, the president of the Catalan regional government, Salvador Illa, requested the intervention of the army's Military Emergency Unit (UME) to help fight this fire, as well as another, smaller fire reported further north. "This is an active fire, it is not under control," Illa emphasized regarding the main fire, urging affected residents to adhere to the confinement instructions.

Spain, situated on the front lines of climate change, experienced "the worst fires in its recent history" last summer. According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), over 393,000 hectares were ravaged by flames in the country in 2025. The Ministry of the Interior reported that during more than 8,000 fires recorded that year, eight people lost their lives, 86 were injured, and over 42,000 were evacuated.

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This is an active fire, it is not under control.