Catalonia
The Spanish pilot will be based on El Perelló fire (Catalonia) that occurred in June 2019. The fire burned across 250 hectares, mainly forestland (95%) and to a lesser extent agricultural land (5%). The fire type is associated with a wind-driven fire in mountainous terrain, driven by a NW wind in one of the driest areas of Catalonia. On the day the fire occurred, the Drought Code (DC) had shown values above 100% of drought for the last month. The influence of counterwinds caused the opening of the perimeter to the SE. The windshift from NW to W and the convection capacity, as well as the spotting behaviour, led to the opening of both flanks: the left flank spread towards the SW, where there was a forest area with difficult access for the suppression teams, whereas the right flank spread towards the NE, where there was a populated area. The suppression strategy consisted of keeping the fire as narrow as possible in the plain area outside the Tivissa-Vandellòs massif, so as to limit the projection of the fire and favour the propagation towards the agricultural fields.
- Location of the Spanish demo site
