Spain’s interior ministry places Catalonia on high alert for forest fires this weekend

Spain's interior ministry places Catalonia on high alert for forest fires this weekend

Image of firefighters tackling the forest fire in Caudiel. Credit: Twitter@BombersDipcas

Catalonia has been placed on the highest possible alert this weekend by Spain’s interior ministry over the risk of forest fires.

Spain’s interior ministry has issued a serious warning for most of Catalonia today, Saturday, August 13, of the high risk of fire and high temperatures. Due to the impending risk of forest fires, Level 3 – the highest level of the protocol – of the fire surveillance and prevention Alfa Plan will be put into force in 249 municipalities by the Rural Agents Corps.

As of yesterday, Friday, August 12, access to the Montsant natural park has been restricted. Montserrat, Garraf-Foix, Sant Llorenc del Munt i l’Obac, Montmell, Prades, Tivissa-Vandellos, and Cardo-Boix have also been made restricted areas.

With Level 3 of the Alfa Plan in place, that means all hunting activities, or work in the forests, must be stopped immediately to avoid the risk of starting fires. As pointed out on Friday by the rural agents, around 90 per cent of the fires are caused either intentionally, or by human error. The lighting of any type of fire is strictly prohibited they added.

Today and tomorrow, Sunday, August 14, parts of the territory are expected to experience temperatures close to 40ºC. The coastal regions of Ebre, Tarragona, and Barcelona will see low relative humidity.

On Saturday evening, and during Sunday morning, these areas could are forecast to receive dry storms. The high temperatures and low relative humidity will remain throughout Sunday though, as reported by catalannews.com.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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