The Generalitat, the Catalan government, kept seven municipalities under confinement on Friday 3 July because of the wildfire in Les Gavarres, the mountain massif between the Gironès and Baix Empordà areas in Girona province. For residents, second-home owners and businesses in the affected towns, that meant restrictions on movement while emergency crews tried to stop the fire spreading.

The confinement order itself was reported by Demócrata and cited by other outlets, but the Generalitat had not published in the source material provided a direct official list naming the seven municipalities at the time of reporting. What is confirmed from wider reporting is that the fire prompted major civil protection measures, road restrictions and emergency warnings across the area.

By Friday, about 500 personnel were working on the fire, according to La Vanguardia. Reports from El Periódico and El Periódico Mediterráneo said the blaze had reached about 2,300 hectares, with flames also affecting urbanisations in Calonge.

Salvador Illa, president of the Generalitat, said the authorities had closed Les Gavarres and warned the fire could burn up to 30,000 hectares in the worst-case scenario.

What was known on Friday

The operational picture changed quickly through Friday 3 July and Saturday 4 July as crews tried to stabilise the perimeter. Antena 3 and La Razón reported Illa's warning that the fire had the potential to burn up to 30,000 hectares under the worst conditions, while later reports said the blaze had been partly stabilised.

  • About 500 personnel were deployed on Friday, according to La Vanguardia.
  • The burned area was reported at about 2,300 hectares by El Periódico and El Periódico Mediterráneo.
  • The fire reached residential urbanisations in Calonge, according to El Periódico Mediterráneo.
  • Later, on Sunday 5 July, El Mundo reported that the Generalitat had lifted the confinement and allowed evacuated residents to return.

For people in Girona province, especially in the Gironès and Baix Empordà districts and the wider Empordà region in north-eastern Catalonia, the practical advice was to avoid travel into the affected forest area unless essential and to follow the latest instructions from Protecció Civil Catalunya, the Catalan civil protection service.

What residents should check

Anyone unsure whether their home, workplace or holiday accommodation was inside the restricted zone should check official updates from Protecció Civil Catalunya and emergency alerts from alertcat.cat. In an emergency, the number to call in Catalonia is 112.

The latest confirmed development in the source material is that the Generalitat later lifted the confinement on Sunday 5 July and permitted evacuated residents to return, according to El Mundo.

Reported by lavanguardia.com, elmundo.es, Alba Gutiérrez Publicado: 04 de julio de 2026, 12:32, larazon.es, Redacción, Eva Batlle, Tony Di Marino.