Forest Fire (5029 ha) in Spain 23 Mar 2023

Event summary

This forest fire can have a low humanitarian impact based on the and the affected population and their vulnerability.

GDACS ID WF 1013034
Countries: Spain
Start Date - Last detection*: 23 Mar 2023 - 27 Mar 2023
Duration (days): 4
People affected: 208 in the burned area
Burned area: 5029 ha
More Info: Global Wildfire Information System

*(Last detection of the thermal anomaly of the fire)

GDACS Score

Virtual OSOCC
Meteo assessment
Satellite products
Analytical products
Spain - Wildfires in Castellon and Teruel provinces, update (ECHO 28 Mar 2023)Tue, 28 Mar 2023 10:11

  • Wildfires in Villanueva de Viver Municipality (Castellón Province, close to the border with Teruel Province, eastern Spain) hampered by the hot and dry wind with gusts of more than 50 km/h, are still ongoing.
  • According to the  National Security Department of Spain (DSN), people living in the Municipalities of Torralba del Pinar, Pavías and Higueras have been evacuated, bringing the total number of evacuated people to more than 1,800.
  • The firefighting operations conducted by regional authorities are still ongoing.
  • The Copernicus Emergency Management Service was activated on 23 March to provide the damage assessment (), and two maps have been produced so far.
  • According to the  European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), the fire risk on 28-29 March is expected to be from high to extreme over the affected area. 
Spain - Wildfires, update (ECHO 30 Mar 2023)Thu, 30 Mar 2023 10:24

  • The wildfires situation started on 23 March in Castellón Province and the neighbouring Teruel Province (eastern Spain) is improving.
  • The National Civil Defense of Spain (DSN) reports, as of 30 March, approximately 1,400 people still evacuated across the Villanueva de Viver, Puebla de Arenoso, Higueras and Pavías Municipalities (Castellón Province).
  • Meanwhile other wildfires events have been affecting northern Spain, in particular in the Tineo Municiplaity (Asturias Province) and Baleira Municipality (Lugo Province). Regarding the latter, 17 evacuated people were reported.
  • The Copernicus Emergency Management Service was activated on 23 March to provide the damage assessment (), and four maps on Villanueva de Viver have been produced so far.
  • Over the next 24 hours, according to the JRC European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), the fire danger forecast is expected to be from high to extreme over eastern Spain, while better condition is forecast over northern Spain.
Spain - Wildfires, update (ECHO 31 Mar 2023)Fri, 31 Mar 2023 09:38

  • The Department of National Security of Spain has reported several wildfires across the country, particularly in Asturias (northern Spain) where 116 forest fires were registered in some thirty councils.
  • The situation in Castellón Province and the neighbouring Teruel Province (eastern Spain) is improving but 1,100 people living in Montanejos, Montán, Higueras and Fuente la Reina are still evacuated.
  • In addition, some others 130 people have been evacuated in the councils of Valdés, Villayón and Tineo following fires across the Asturias Region. Furthermore, the fire declared on 28 March in Baleira Municipality (Lugo Province, Galicia Region) has been stabilized.
  • Over the next 24 hours, according to the JRC European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), the fire danger forecast is expected to be from high to extreme over eastern and south-eastern Spain, while better conditions are forecast over northern Spain including the affected regions.
Detailed event map. European Union, 2024. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.

Updates on volcanic activity (Smithsonian)

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Estimated casualties (PAGER)

USGS estimates the number of casualties for each earthquake for the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) product.
The graph shows the current fatalities estimate.

Exposed population

Data, images, links, services and documents

For this events, GDACS has links to information from the following sources: (2), EC-JRC (27), WMO (1), INFORM (2), JRC (1),