A wildfire that ignited July 3, 2026 near La Bisbal d'Empordà in Catalonia's Girona province has burned more than 2,300 hectares along Spain's Costa Brava, forming a 40-kilometer perimeter and forcing roughly 12,000 residents across at least 10 municipalities to shelter in place.
Catalan firefighters have classified the blaze as a "sixth-generation" megafire — a designation reserved for fires so intense they generate their own weather systems, spreading unpredictably through tinder-dry vegetation baked by an ongoing Mediterranean heatwave. Around 150 people, including about 70 children at a summer holiday camp, were evacuated as flames approached the beach resort of Platja d'Aro and neighboring coastal communities. Authorities warn that up to 10,000 hectares could ultimately burn if hot, dry winds persist. A man was arrested on suspicion of accidentally starting the fire while using an angle grinder along a roadside.
More than 200 firefighters from Catalonia's Bombers de la Generalitat, supported by aerial water-bombers, are battling the blaze. Spain's Military Emergencies Unit (UME) deployed 200 soldiers and 60 vehicles to reinforce the response. Catalan president Salvador Illa requested additional central-government support, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged full cooperation. The European Union activated the Copernicus satellite mapping system to track the fire's progression, and France offered assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism as wildfires burn simultaneously across Spain, Portugal, and Greece.
Humanitarian organizations are mobilizing to support displaced residents and confined communities. The American Red Cross is coordinating with the Spanish Red Cross (Cruz Roja Española) on shelter, food, and psychosocial support for evacuees. Global Empowerment Mission is staging relief supplies from its European operations, Direct Relief is preparing medical aid for smoke-affected residents and injured responders, and Save the Children is providing child-focused emergency support for the families evacuated from summer camps and coastal communities.
To support families displaced by the Costa Brava wildfires, donate through the Spain Wildfires disaster page or visit our Relief Directory to find more organizations responding across southern Europe.
