Catalonia Wildfire Kills Two Amid Europe’s Record Heatwave

A fast-moving wildfire in the farming municipality of Torrefeta i Florejacs, in Spain’s northeastern region of Catalonia, killed two people late Tuesday and scorched about 5,600 hectares of mainly cereal farmland. The blaze, fanned by strong winds and dry thunderstorms, forced some 14,000 residents in nearby towns to shelter indoors for several hours. Catalonia’s fire service described the outbreak as “extremely violent and erratic,” with flames advancing roughly 40 kilometres before crews stabilised the perimeter on Wednesday.

Emergency teams kept watch for renewed flare-ups as forecasters warned that fresh storms and gusts could complicate mop-up operations. Spain’s meteorological agency AEMET maintained heat alerts across much of the country after recording its hottest June on record, with temperatures peaking at 46 °C in parts of the interior. Catalonia’s regional president Salvador Illa urged residents to follow safety instructions and avoid field work during the hottest hours as investigators examine whether sparks from harvesting machinery ignited the fire.

The Catalan blaze is the most serious in a wider early-summer heatwave sweeping Europe. Reuters tallied at least eight deaths linked to extreme heat this week—four in Spain, two in France and two in Italy. The hot spell has triggered red alerts from Milan to Marseille, pushed German thermometers near 40 °C and forced Switzerland’s Beznau nuclear plant to cut output because river water needed for cooling grew too warm. Scientists and officials warn that the frequency and intensity of such events are increasing as the continent heads deeper into the summer.