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Torrefeta Fire: Suspicions of Origin Linked to Telephone Line Maintenance

Flames have scorched 113 hectares and killed 800 pigs, as residents suggest maintenance workers may have started the blaze.

Image of a wildfire in cereal fields and pine trees in Catalonia.
IA

Image of a wildfire in cereal fields and pine trees in Catalonia.

A wildfire in Torrefeta i Florejacs has burned 113 hectares and killed 800 pigs, with suspicions that the fire may have started during telephone line maintenance.

Residents of Torrefeta i Florejacs allege that the wildfire that broke out on Tuesday may have started near workers performing maintenance on a telephone line. Josep Maria Besora, owner of Masia Mascó, stated he saw the workers at the fire's origin point, engaged in maintenance on a telephone pole. Sources from the Agents Rurals have confirmed this is one of the hypotheses being investigated.
The fire has affected an area of 113 hectares, primarily cereal fields, and resulted in the death of 800 pigs at a farm located in Mas de Nadal.
Besora recounted being alerted to smoke near his farmhouse at 2:27 PM. Upon arrival, they found "maintenance company workers" working on a telephone pole, who responded they "didn't know how it happened" when questioned. Besora emphasized the need for extreme caution due to high temperatures and low humidity, calling for better control over rural activities during such conditions, and expressed concern for the summer following a major fire last year.
The owner of Masia Mascó also lamented the fire's impact on agricultural land, noting that their direct sowing method can degrade soil quality, leading to economic losses for the next season.
Local farmers, such as Narcís Sisquella from Selvanera, assisted the Bombers with agricultural machinery. Sisquella confirmed that initial indications point to the fire starting near telephone poles where workers were replacing them and installing fiber optics, though the exact cause remains unknown. He voiced the sector's frustration over other activities continuing during peak fire risk hours.
The flames also affected one of two barns at a farm in Mas de Nadal, killing the 800 fattening pigs inside. The other barn and several nearby farms were saved.
Protecció Civil issued an ES-Alert message requesting confinement for several municipalities near the fire, including Biosca and Sanaüja, as well as areas of Torrefeta i Florejacs and Massoteres. The confinement was later reduced to four scattered farmhouses. 33 Bombers units worked on extinguishing the fire.

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