Strong gusts of wind, low humidity, and high temperatures increase the risk of wildfires when it is not yet spring.
The Generalitat activates level 2 of the Alfa plan due to the high risk of fires from this Saturday. There are 20 counties affected, mainly in the southwest of the country. The body of Rural Agents has called for extreme precautions in the face of an episode of high temperatures and westerly winds that will last the whole weekend.
According to government sources, more than 24,800 planned activities have been suspended during this period, as of 12 midnight this Friday. Prohibited actions include the cremation of plant remains or recreational fires.
The alert map shows, in red, the counties where level 2 has been activated, with high or very high danger. In yellow, those in level 1 are of moderate or high danger.
It is not ruled out that level 2 could be extended to more counties during the weekend, depending on how the weather forecast evolves.
The activation of the Alfa plan is motivated by the forecast of high temperatures, low relative humidity, and the entry of wind from the West, together with the accumulated drought, which will increase the danger of forest fires.
On Friday and Saturday, areas where there is more accumulated drought are of particular concern, especially the coast and pre-coastal areas of Barcelona.
As for Sunday, it is expected that a northerly wind will enter, which will also increase the danger on the coast and pre-coastal of Girona, where there is also an accumulated deficit of rain.
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The scale of the Alpha plane
The dangerous situations of the Alfa plan are graded on a scale of 4 levels, from 0 to 3, for each county. Zero is the low level and three is the extreme level of fire danger.
The activation of each level involves a degree of mobilization of the cash and the deployment of certain preventive actions