Wildfire menaces Spain’s Costa Brava tourist hotspot

BARCELONA – Hundreds of Spanish firefighters battled an expanding wildfire near the popular Mediterranean tourist destination of Costa Brava that had confined thousands to their homes on July 3.

The blaze started in the morning near the northeastern municipality of La Bisbal d’Emporda, around 20km from a picturesque coastline usually full of summer holidaymakers.

Strong winds whipped up the fire and prompted Catalan regional authorities to ask residents of 10 municipalities to stay at home, including the popular Platja d’Aro beach resort.

Regional emergency services said around 150 people had been evacuated, including some 70 children from a holiday camp.

Footage shared by the Catalan fire service showed helicopters swooping to drop water on the flames amid thick masses of grey and orange smoke billowing from hilly, forested terrain.

Bathers enjoying the sunny weather on a nearby beach were confronted with the sight of a water bomber flying low overhead and smoke covering the horizon.

“The column (of smoke) is very slanted, it has formed a very violent pyrocumulus” that would keep shifting, said Catalan fire service chief David Borrell.

More than 200 firefighters have been deployed, including aerial resources, the service announced.

The Catalan regional government’s interior minister, Nuria Parlon, said the flames had consumed 1,280 hectares and that more than 200 troops from the army’s emergencies unit were on their way.

Their tasks would include “guaranteeing coverage in case we have simultaneous incidents”, a scenario with a “high probability”, she added.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed “concern” on X and urged citizens to “take the utmost caution in light of the high temperatures in the coming days”.

Catalan police said a man had been arrested on suspicion of starting the fire “while he was using an angle grinder by the roadside”.

Spain is on the front line of climate change, which scientists say increases the intensity, frequency and duration of the extreme heat that fuels wildfires.

Deadly wildfires devoured almost 400,000 hectares of land in 2025, the highest figure recorded for the country by the European Forest Fire Information System. AFP