July 19, 2025
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Two people died in Spain in a wildfire that spread quickly before firefighters brought it under control, authorities said, as a European heat wave sent thermometers soaring again on Wednesday.
The blaze broke out in the rural province of Lleida. It created an enormous thick plume of ash and smoke that reached 45,000 feet of altitude, making it the largest registered by firefighters in Catalonia, a northeastern region of Spain.
Firefighters said that the fire spread at 17 mph at one point, making it one of the fastest fires registered in Europe, they said.
Catalan regional president Salvador Illa announced the deaths, which occurred late Tuesday, in a social media post around midnight. Firefighters said that the two victims were found near the small village of Cosco in the county of La Segarra, near a vehicle. Regional official Nuria Parlón said that the two victims were a farmer and one of his workers. She said that it appears that they were caught by the flames as they were trying to flee the farm.
Two firefighters also needed to be treated at a local hospital for injuries.
A total of 16,000 acres was burned before firefighters got some help from a rainstorm and established a perimeter. Authorities issued warnings to residents via messages to smartphones and ordered 14,000 people to stay indoors, firefighters said. That order was lifted late Tuesday.
Firefighters said that the rainstorms “quickly changed the situation and helped speed up getting the fire stabilized.”
The fire destroyed mostly farmland, but it also incinerated at least three old farmhouses and some other farm buildings.
The fire was declared under control early Wednesday.
“Wildfires today are not like they were before,” Ill said. “These are extremely dangerous. From the very first moment, it was considered to be beyond the capacity of extinction. I mean that not even with two or three times the number of firefighters, they have told me, it would have been possible to put out.”
The heat wave in parts of Europe has set record high temperatures for June in Spain and Portugal.
More hot weather is expected on Wednesday with temperatures in the Lleida region forecast to reach a high of 102 F.
“It will be a difficult day due to the high temperatures and until we get past the hottest part of the afternoon we will have to be on our guard,” said Illa, the regional president.
Spain has been sweltering under its first heat wave of the year since the weekend. Except for Spain's northern Atlantic coast, the country remained under alert for high temperatures and for wildfire risk on Wednesday.
In Spain's southern city of Malaga, the international Red Cross set up a “climate refuge” that is air-conditioned down to about 70 F to help residents “cope with the heat in comfort and with company, avoiding the isolation and loneliness” that extreme heat can impose as people stay indoors.
The Spanish Red Cross was also providing an “assisted bathing service” to help people with reduced mobility cool down in water at the beach.
France's national weather agency kept four departments under red alert on Wednesday after temperatures exceeded 104 F in many towns.
Heat alerts were issued for 17 Italian cities on Wednesday. The corresponding surge in air conditioning was straining the electric grid and causing periodic blackouts. On Tuesday, parts of Florence’s historic center — which is packed with hotels, restaurants, and shops — had a blackout following a surge in electricity use, energy company Enel said.
Italy’s labor ministry, meanwhile, summoned union representatives to a meeting Wednesday to finalize a protocol on protecting farm, construction, and other workers who labor outdoors from heat exposure.
This came after a construction worker died in Bologna this week.
In Switzerland, one of the two reactors at the Beznau nuclear power plant was shut down as part of efforts to prevent excessive warming of the Aare River, so as not to further burden wildlife and the overall ecosystem in already hot weather, operator Axpo said.
