Firefighters from the Generalitat said on Tuesday evening that they had contained the perimeter of a wildfire in Gavà, in Baix Llobregat, after a blaze that led nearly 6,000 residents to be told to stay indoors for several hours.

The fire alert was received shortly before 2pm, according to fire service officials, after witnesses reported a plume of smoke that became visible from different parts of the Barcelona area within minutes. For residents in Gavà, the immediate consequence was a confinement order during the fire's most dangerous phase, sent through the ES-ALERT public warning system.

At about 7pm, Bombers de la Generalitat, Catalonia's regional fire service, announced that the fire had been perimetered, reducing the risk of further spread. Around 20 minutes later, Civil Protection sent a new ES-ALERT message lifting the order for people to remain sheltered in place.

Smoke seen across the Barcelona area

According to the reporting published by El Periódico, the blaze started on Tuesday afternoon in the municipality of Gavà. The first reports reached emergency services shortly before 2pm, when several people alerted authorities after seeing smoke rising from the area.

The smoke column was soon visible well beyond Gavà, including from various points across the wider Barcelona area. Firefighters continued working at the scene into the evening after securing the perimeter.

Around 7pm, the fire department announced that they had successfully perimetered the fire, thereby minimising the risk of the flames spreading further.

What changed for residents on Tuesday evening

Civil Protection later cancelled the shelter order with a second ES-ALERT message, sent about 20 minutes after firefighters reported the fire contained within its perimeter.

  • Initial fire alert: shortly before 2pm on Tuesday 8 July
  • Residents affected by the shelter order: about 6,000
  • Perimeter declared secured: around 7pm
  • Confinement order lifted: about 20 minutes later

The available source material does not state the exact streets or neighbourhoods covered by the alert, and officials had not, in the text provided, published a final burned area figure or said what caused the fire.

By Tuesday evening, the key operational update for local residents was that the confinement order had been lifted after firefighters said the spread risk had been brought under control.

Reported by Source Text Link, El Periódico, ABC, Quim Bertomeu, Redacción, Rosa Yélamos, lapremsadelbaix.es, elmundo.es, larazon.es, Eva Batlle, Joan Arcos, Yolanda Bernal, Agencia EFE, europapress.es, thelocal.es, El Periódico Barcelona.