Wildfire reaches homes in Calonge, forcing confinement in seven Catalan municipalities

A wildfire that started in La Bisbal d'Empordà reached homes in Calonge on Saturday, marking a major escalation in the fire that has swept through the Les Gavarres area of Girona province.

Officials and local reporting said the flames entered the Cabanyes housing development, where one home was destroyed, 12 other houses suffered damage to gardens and fences, and a farmhouse also burned.

About 10,000 people remained confined across seven municipalities as firefighters and other emergency crews worked to stabilize the blaze.

Fire reaches Calonge

The first confirmed damage in Calonge came after the fire spread from the wooded terrain around La Bisbal d'Empordà into a populated area on the Costa Brava. The affected homes were in the Cabanyes development, where emergency crews were focused on preventing the fire from spreading further into residential streets.

The damage reported so far includes one destroyed house, burned garden and fence areas at 12 other homes, and a farmhouse that caught fire.

Confinement across seven municipalities

Civil protection orders kept residents inside in La Bisbal d'Empordà, Calonge i Sant Antoni, Castell d'Aro, Platja d'Aro i s'Agaró, Forallac, Llagostera and Santa Cristina d'Aro.

Coverage said roughly 10,000 people were affected. Fire officials warned residents not to try to leave on their own, saying self-evacuation through the fire zone could be dangerous.

How the fire spread

The blaze was first reported earlier in the week, when coverage said it had already burned about 2,300 hectares and forced confinement orders across the Baix Empordà area.

By Saturday morning, new reporting said the fire remained only partly stabilized but had continued to advance into Calonge.

Les Gavarres, the forested area between Baix Empordà and the Costa Brava, provided dry fuel for the flames. Coverage also pointed to strong Tramuntana and Marinada winds as factors that helped drive the fire's spread.

Emergency response

More than 400 emergency workers were involved in the response, including Bombers de la Generalitat, Catalan Civil Protection, Mossos d'Esquadra and troops from Spain's emergency military unit, the UME.

The operational priority was to protect homes, hold the line around the residential developments and keep the fire from moving deeper into populated and tourist areas during peak summer season.

What happens next

Officials had not yet settled the final burned area, with coverage citing figures of about 2,300 hectares and about 2,400 hectares.

It was also still unclear when confinement orders might be lifted or expanded. Investigators were continuing to examine the cause of the fire, and reporting said a man had been detained over the alleged ignition after using a radial saw during a prohibited high-risk period.