Update:
On Sunday the regional Catalan government lifted the lockdown that had confined 12,000 residents to their homes as firefighters contained the blaze that had broken out on Friday in La Bisbal d’Emporda, around 20 kilometres from the Costa Brava coastline.
After intense work by firefighters on Sunday, the fire that had torn through 2,300 hectares and destroyed eight houses, was under control.
Original full report:
Spain’s firefighters have brought a major wildfire threatening the Costa Brava (Catalonia) increasingly under control after it tore through more than 2,200 hectares of forest and scrubland, forced the evacuation of holidaymakers and confined thousands of residents to their homes.
The blaze broke out on Friday near the Catalan municipality of La Bisbal d’Empordà, around 20 kilometres from the Costa Brava coastline, one of Spain’s most popular tourist destinations. Fanned by powerful tramontana winds and intensified by an ongoing heatwave, the fire rapidly spread into the Gavarres mountain range, sending towering columns of smoke across the region and prompting a major emergency response.
By Saturday, Catalonia’s regional fire service said the wildfire had consumed around 2,200 hectares of woodland and vegetation. Hundreds of firefighters worked through the night to halt its advance and succeeded in stabilising much of the perimeter.
In a statement on Saturday, the fire service said crews ‘have stabilised around 70% of the right flank of the fire’.
‘Now the objective is to consolidate before the winds change, which is forecast for midday,’ it added.
Although more than two-thirds of the blaze had been brought under control, firefighters continued working to fully contain remaining hotspots before weather conditions deteriorated. No injuries have been reported.
The fire prompted the evacuation of around 150 people, including approximately 70 children staying at a holiday camp. At the height of the emergency, authorities also ordered residents in 10 municipalities across the Empordà region to remain indoors, affecting around 12,000 people.
The confinement orders were introduced as thick smoke spread across the area and the fire advanced through forested terrain. Around 40,000 people also received Es-Alert emergency messages on their mobile phones because of the wide coverage area of nearby telecommunications masts.
The regional Catalan government urged residents in the Barcelona area to avoid travelling to the Baix Empordà, Gironès and Pla de l’Estany districts in order to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles and firefighting operations.
The regional government also requested assistance from Spain’s Military Emergency Unit (UME) as crews battled the fast-moving blaze.
Catalan president Salvador Illa warned of the seriousness of the situation and urged people to comply fully with official instructions.
Investigators believe the wildfire may have been accidentally sparked during roadside mechanical work. Rural Agents arrested a man on suspicion of starting the fire while using an angle grinder beside a road near La Bisbal d’Empordà.
Dramatic footage circulating on social media showed enormous flames racing through woodland, thick black and orange smoke rising above the landscape, and motorists stopping to film what witnesses described as apocalyptic scenes. Other videos captured vast smoke clouds hanging over beaches along the Costa Brava coastline.
The wildfire comes as Spain continues to experience increasingly severe fire seasons. Scientists say climate change is increasing the intensity, frequency and duration of extreme heat, creating conditions that allow wildfires to spread more rapidly and become more destructive. ALSO READ: Spain records over 1,000 heat-related deaths as first half of 2026 becomes hottest on record.
Spain remains on the frontline of climate change, and last year deadly wildfires destroyed almost 400,000 hectares of land — the highest annual total ever recorded for the country by the European Forest Fire Information System. ALSO READ: Wildfires in Spain this year confirmed as most destructive in country’s history.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Portugal has also been battling major wildfires, with at least nine people injured after a blaze that ignited on Wednesday continued to burn through forested areas. ALSO READ: Study finds climate change made Spain’s wildfires 40 times more likely.
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