Emergency services continue to work this Wednesday on several forest fires spread across Spain, although the situation has improved compared to previous days. The Sentmenat fire (Barcelona) remains the one that most concerns the Generalitat Firefighters, while other large fires registered in Catalonia, the Valencian Community, and Andalusia are evolving favorably after having been stabilized or controlled.
The combination of temperatures above 40 degrees, very low humidity, and wind episodes has made the last few days one of the highest risk periods for fires of the summer. Catalonia has concentrated the largest number of large simultaneous fires, even forcing the request for support from the Military Emergencies Unit (UME) to reinforce extinction efforts.
Although the evolution of several fires allows for some optimism, authorities insist that the danger remains very high and remind that a stabilized or controlled fire cannot be considered extinguished until any risk of reactivation disappears.
Sentmenat, the fire that continues to focus all efforts
The forest fire in Sentmenat continues to be the main focus of concern for emergency services. The Generalitat Firefighters maintain a significant deployment of ground and air resources with 55 crews to curb a fire that remains active and has presented secondary outbreaks, complicating extinction efforts.
Catalan authorities have indicated that the priority remains to protect the population and prevent the flames from reaching new forest areas or inhabited areas, on a day marked again by high temperatures.
Anoia: the fire is evolving favorably after being stabilized
The fire declared between Carme and La Pobla de Claramunt, which forced the confinement of tens of thousands of people in recent hours, remains stabilized.
Ten crews of firefighters continue to cool the perimeter to prevent flare-ups, as the heatwave maintains especially unfavorable meteorological conditions to declare the fire extinguished.
Torrefeta i Florejacs maintains a large surveillance device
The fire in Torrefeta i Florejacs also shows a favorable evolution after having been stabilized.
The extinguishing teams remain deployed on the ground consolidating the affected perimeter and monitoring any possible reactivation, especially during the central hours of the day, when temperatures rise and relative humidity drops.
Savallà del Comtat is already under control
The Bombers de la Generalitat have confirmed that the fire declared in Savallà del Comtat has been brought under control.
Despite this, surveillance and hot spot liquidation work continues before the emergency can be declared completely over.
Martorell is also evolving favorably
The fire registered in Martorell has also been brought under control after the intense work carried out by the extinguishing teams.
The authorities maintain personnel on the ground to consolidate the perimeter and prevent any reactivation due to extreme weather conditions.
La Bisbal d'Empordà remains under surveillance
The fire in La Bisbal d'Empordà, which has affected more than 2,200 hectares of the Les Gavarres natural space, remains under control.
Although the advance of the flames has been stopped, the Bombers maintain a permanent surveillance device due to the high risk of reproductions occurring while the heatwave continues.
Soneja remains stabilized after affecting the Sierra de Espadán
In the Valencian Community, the forest fire in Soneja remains stabilized after burning around 180 hectares, some of them within the surroundings of the Sierra de Espadán Natural Park.
Extinguishing personnel continue with the work of cooling the terrain and monitoring the perimeter before declaring the fire completely under control.
Grazalema improves, but the operation remains deployed
The fire declared in Grazalema (Cádiz) is also evolving favorably after being stabilized by the INFOCA Plan device.
Despite the improvement in the situation, personnel continue to work on the ground to consolidate the affected perimeter and prevent possible reactivations favored by high temperatures.
Authorities call for maximum caution due to extreme fire risk
The State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), Civil Protection, and the various regional emergency services maintain their calls for caution due to the high risk of forest fires affecting a large part of Spain.
Among the main recommendations are to avoid any type of fire or barbecues in natural areas, not to throw cigarette butts or combustible objects from vehicles, not to use machinery that can generate sparks in forest areas, to respect all access restrictions to mountains and natural spaces, and to immediately call 112 at any sign of smoke or indication of fire.
Likewise, the authorities insist on following only the information disseminated by official emergency services and respecting confinements, evacuations, or road closures that may be decreed while extinction efforts last.