More than 18,000 people in lockdown as wildfire rages in Catalonia

A helicopter helps to extinguish an ongoing wildfire in Xerta, which is one of the confined villages in the Tarrragona province in Catalonia, Spain, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

XERTA, Spain (Reuters) -Spanish authorities ordered more than 18,000 residents of the northeastern Tarragona province to remain indoors on Tuesday and several dozen were evacuated as a wildfire raged out of control, consuming almost 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) of vegetation.

Large parts of Spain are on high alert for wildfires after the country experienced its hottest June on record. Two people died in a wildfire on July 1 in the region of Catalonia where Tarragona is located.