Toxic cloud forces 160,000 Spaniards to stay inside after fire
The blaze at a swimming pool cleaning products company started at 2.20 a.m. local time (8:20 p.m. Friday ET) in Vilanova i la Geltru, a town 48 kilometers (30 miles) south of Barcelona and caused a huge plume of chlorine smoke over the area.
'If you are in the zone that is affected do not leave your home or your place of work,' the Civil Protection service said on social media site X.
No one has been hurt in the fire, Catalan emergency services said on Saturday, but residents in five towns were sent a message on their mobile phones telling them to remain inside.
'It is very difficult for chlorine to catch fire but when it does so it is very hard to put it out,' the owner of the industrial property, Jorge Vinuales Alonso, told local radio station Rac1.
He said the cause of the fire might have been a lithium battery.
Trains which were due to pass through the area were held up, roads were blocked and other events were canceled.
The fire was under control, Civil Protection spokesperson Joan Ramon Cabello told the TVE television channel.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
❌ LaLiga turns down time change for Girona v Rayo Vallecano
LaLiga has rejected Girona's request to delay the schedule of the match that will take place tomorrow, Friday, at Montilivi against Rayo Vallecano. Despite the Catalan club's concerns about high temperatures, the match will remain at 19:00. This is the second time in the week that Girona has attempted to change the match schedule, arguing that the heat forecasts could pose a risk to the health of both players and fans. LaLiga has justified its decision based on the forecasted temperature at the start of the match being 32 degrees, decreasing to less than 30 by the end. The club association argues that these conditions are common at this time of year and that similar matches have already been played in previous seasons and even in these early the refusal, Girona has announced a series of measures to minimize risks. The club has acquired 4,000 additional caps to the 4,000 provided by LaLiga, and free water will be distributed to fans located in sunny areas. Additionally, three extra bars will be installed for beverage sales. The club has called on its fans to act with caution and take care of the most vulnerable. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here. 📸 Alex Caparros - 2025 Getty Images
San Francisco Chronicle
08-08-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
High temperatures threaten to reignite blaze after France's largest wildfire in decades
VILLEROUGE LA CREMADE, France (AP) — Firefighters and local authorities remained on high alert Friday after France's largest wildfire in decades was contained in the south of the country, amid forecasts of very high temperatures which could reignite the blaze. Over three days, the fire spread across more than 160 square kilometers (62 square miles) in the Aude wine region and claimed one life, forcing hundreds of residents to flee their homes. In hot and dry weather, the blaze quickly spread with a perimeter reaching 90 kilometers and local authorities said they need to remain vigilant throughout the weekend as temperatures are expected to rise above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) during another heat wave. Region administrator Christian Pouget said some 1,000 people have not yet been able to return to their homes after the fire swept through 15 communes in the Corbières mountain region, destroying or damaging at least 36 homes. One person died at home, and at least 13 others were injured, including 11 firefighters, according to local authorities. Residents have been warned not to return home without authorization, as many roads remain blocked and dangerous. Those forced to flee have been housed in emergency shelters across 17 municipalities. 'On Tuesday when the fire started, we learned that the inhabitants of the nearby village of Durban-Corbières were arriving in Tuchan," Beatrice Bertrand, the mayor of Tuchan, told The Associated Press. "We have received and hosted over 200 people. We gave them food, thanks to local businesses who opened their stores despite it being very late. "Civil Protection brought us beds. And also the local villagers offered their homes to welcome them. It was their first night here and many were shocked and scared.' An investigation is underway to determine what sparked the fire. The fire was the largest recorded since France's national fire database was created in 2006. But France's minister for ecological transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, called the blaze the worst since 1949 and linked it to climate change. Southern Europe has seen multiple large fires this summer. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires. Last month, a wildfire that reached the southern port of Marseille, France's second-largest city, left around 300 people injured. Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing at twice the speed of the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service.
08-08-2025
High temperatures threaten to reignite France's largest wildfire in decades
VILLEROUGE LA CREMADE, France -- Firefighters and local authorities remained on high alert Friday after France's largest wildfire in decades was contained in the south of the country, amid forecasts of very high temperatures which could reignite the blaze. Over three days, the fire spread across more than 160 square kilometers (62 square miles) in the Aude wine region and claimed one life, forcing hundreds of residents to flee their homes. In hot and dry weather, the blaze quickly spread with a perimeter reaching 90 kilometers and local authorities said they need to remain vigilant throughout the weekend as temperatures are expected to rise above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) during another heat wave. Region administrator Christian Pouget said some 1,000 people have not yet been able to return to their homes after the fire swept through 15 communes in the Corbières mountain region, destroying or damaging at least 36 homes. One person died at home, and at least 13 others were injured, including 11 firefighters, according to local authorities. Residents have been warned not to return home without authorization, as many roads remain blocked and dangerous. Those forced to flee have been housed in emergency shelters across 17 municipalities. 'On Tuesday when the fire started, we learned that the inhabitants of the nearby village of Durban-Corbières were arriving in Tuchan," Beatrice Bertrand, the mayor of Tuchan, told The Associated Press. "We have received and hosted over 200 people. We gave them food, thanks to local businesses who opened their stores despite it being very late. "Civil Protection brought us beds. And also the local villagers offered their homes to welcome them. It was their first night here and many were shocked and scared.' An investigation is underway to determine what sparked the fire. The fire was the largest recorded since France's national fire database was created in 2006. But France's minister for ecological transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, called the blaze the worst since 1949 and linked it to climate change. Southern Europe has seen multiple large fires this summer. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires. Last month, a wildfire that reached the southern port of Marseille, France's second-largest city, left around 300 people injured.
