What would happen if a wildfire threatened Planas del Rey? How would residents be warned? Should they evacuate or remain at home? Which roads should they use? Would firefighters have access to enough water?
Several official documents now provide some answers: the Planas del Rey Self-Protection Plan, drawn up in 2006 and officially approved in 2007; the Municipal Wildfire Prevention Plan, approved in 2023; and Pratdip’s DUPROCIM*, definitively approved in 2022 and updated in October 2024.
These documents set out a genuine emergency response framework. However, comparing them also reveals significant differences between the instructions issued in 2006 and those established in 2024. Above all, it shows that several facilities and procedures provided for on paper still need to be verified on the ground.
*DUPROCIM — Single Municipal Civil Protection Document — organises the municipality’s response to the main risks it faces, including wildfires, floods, strong winds, accidents and other emergency situations.
A risk officially classified as very high
The DUPROCIM states that more than 85% of Pratdip’s municipal area is covered by forest. It classifies the wildfire hazard as very high and the municipality’s vulnerability as high.
Planas lies directly alongside woodland and vegetation, between the Dòvia ravine and the Llastres River. The 2006 plan had already highlighted the continuity between forested areas, private plots and homes.
It also drew attention to the steep slopes in certain areas, particularly around Magnolia Street, as well as to the wind, dry vegetation and large number of pine trees.
The 2024 DUPROCIM records 334 residents in Planas and estimates that its population can reach approximately 1,000 during the summer. This seasonal variation makes the organisation of warnings and any potential evacuation particularly important.
In the event of a wildfire: evacuate or remain at home?
A comparison of the documents shows that the general guidance has changed.
In 2006, Planas was classified as a type B residential development, meaning that it did not meet all the required wildfire protection standards. The plan did not provide for residents to shelter in place and envisaged self-evacuation as soon as a wildfire was confirmed.
The 2024 DUPROCIM takes a different approach. It provides for an assessment of whether residents should shelter in place or be evacuated and states:
“In general, sheltering in place is the best option if the house provides adequate protection, although the possible evacuation of locations that do not offer such protection must also be considered.”
The decision therefore depends on the location of the fire, the direction of the wind, the smoke, road conditions and the level of protection offered by the buildings.
In the event of a wildfire, anyone discovering the fire should immediately call 112 and then follow the instructions issued by firefighters and the authorities, rather than deciding independently to take to the road.
Two exits and two assembly points
Planas has two main road access points:
- to the north, the road connecting Pratdip Avenue to the T-310;
- to the south, the road connecting Dàlia Street to the T-318.
The 2006 plan also designated Pratdip Avenue, Clavell Street and Tulipa Street as internal evacuation routes. It identified two assembly points:
- the Planas del Rey sports area;
- the undeveloped plot between Tulipa and Orquídea Streets.
The document recommended reaching these assembly points on foot whenever possible and reserving vehicles for people requiring assistance.
However, it warned that the external roads could become congested because of their steep gradients and sharp bends, particularly on the T-310 side.
To our knowledge, there is no continuous network of forest tracks allowing fire engines to travel around Planas. Emergency services must therefore rely primarily on the two access roads and the streets within the residential development.
It remains to be confirmed whether the evacuation routes and assembly points identified in 2006 are still part of the current emergency arrangements.
How would residents be warned?
The 2006 plan provided for residents to be warned through the residential development’s fixed public-address system. If this system failed, warnings were to be delivered directly to individual homes.
The 2023 municipal plan identifies several communication methods:
- loudspeakers located throughout the streets of Pratdip, Planas and Santa Marina;
- landline and mobile phones;
- municipal vehicles equipped with portable public-address systems;
- the Town Council’s website;
- the tourist information office.
The Town Council now also uses the eAgora application to issue announcements and urgent alerts.
The available warning methods are therefore identified. However, we do not know whether the loudspeakers in Planas are still operational, whether they cover the entire residential development or whether a recent test has confirmed their effectiveness.
No fire hydrant in Planas confirmed by the DUPROCIM
In 2006, firefighters could not use any compliant fire hydrants. The plan listed 17 underground irrigation outlets but stated that they did not provide sufficient pressure to be fully operational.
Their operation also depended on a pump that had to be activated from the maintenance building. A power cut or pumping failure could therefore prevent them from being used.
The 2024 DUPROCIM lists 15 facilities in Planas, under references H18 and H26 to H39. However, a note specifies that only those marked with an asterisk in the municipal table actually function as fire hydrants. All the others are classified as simple irrigation outlets whose flow rate or pressure cannot be guaranteed.
None of the 15 facilities listed in Planas is marked with an asterisk.
The 2024 municipal document therefore does not confirm the existence of any fire hydrant capable of providing firefighters with the required flow rate and pressure.
Water reserves that are difficult to identify
The 2006 plan listed the public swimming pool, then estimated to hold 600 m³ of water, several reservoirs within the residential development and various private swimming pools that could potentially be used.
In 2017, a dedicated firefighting water reservoir with an announced capacity of 200,000 litres was also presented for Planas.
The 2023 prevention plan refers to a “reservoir or swimming pool” in Planas with a capacity of 450 m³. It is accessible to helicopters but is not intended for public use and is not included in the main network of firefighting water points.
These details do not fully correspond. The document does not make it possible to determine with certainty whether this is the municipal swimming pool, the firefighting reservoir or another water source.
The current condition of the reservoir, its water level, its connections and its accessibility to fire engines also remain to be confirmed.
Finally, the DUPROCIM states that the unpaved ground in Planas could exceptionally be used as a helicopter landing area. However, it is not a specially equipped helipad.
The 200,000-litre water reservoir intended for firefighting, photographed in November 2017. Its current condition and the arrangements for its use still need to be clarified.
A perimeter protection strip that remains incomplete
A perimeter protection strip is an area at least 25 metres wide in which dry vegetation must be removed and trees thinned and pruned.
In 2006, this strip had not been created around the entire perimeter of Planas. Only certain areas near the access roads had been treated in 2005, and these already required further maintenance.
The 2023 plan stated that complete information was not available on the extent to which the municipality’s perimeter protection strips had been completed. It estimated that approximately 20% of the strips examined had been fully or partially created and specifically mentioned the one around Planas.
The plan also provided for an area of reduced vegetation in the Dòvia ravine, alongside the T-310, to slow the spread of a wildfire and ensure continuity with the residential development’s protection strips.
This information dates from 2023 and does not provide a precise picture of the condition of the entire perimeter in September 2026.
Emergency exercises are planned, but none has been confirmed
The DUPROCIM provides for at least one municipal civil protection exercise every year. An exercise focusing on wildfire risk should test communications, warning systems, shelter-in-place procedures, evacuation, access control and the selection of emergency reception centres.
However, the assessment forms included in the document have not been completed. We are therefore unable to confirm whether such an exercise has actually taken place or whether residents of Planas participated in it.
The 2006 plan also provided for people requiring assistance to be identified and assigned a means of transport. However, the corresponding list is blank in the document available to us.
The 2024 DUPROCIM still provides for vulnerable people to be monitored. However, we do not know whether the Town Council currently maintains an up-to-date register of residents with reduced mobility, specific medical needs or no access to a vehicle.
Technical inspections announced for September 2026
At the beginning of September, the Town Council announced that technicians from the Consorci de la Serra de Llaberia would visit Planas to inspect buildings, plots and their surroundings.
The stated aim is to assess their vulnerability to wildfires and identify possible prevention and self-protection measures.
This initiative will provide an opportunity to assess the actual situation on the ground. At this stage, however, it remains an evaluation process. The announcement does not yet specify what work will subsequently be carried out, according to what timetable or with what resources.
Detailed plans, but are they operational?
The official documents show that the wildfire risk in Planas has been recognised for twenty years. They provide for evacuation routes, assembly points, various warning methods, assistance for vulnerable people and regular emergency exercises.
However, several essential questions remain unanswered:
- are the assembly points identified in 2006 still valid?
- are the loudspeakers in Planas operational, and do they cover every street?
- why was no fire hydrant confirmed in Planas in 2024?
- what exactly is the 450 m³ water source mentioned in 2023?
- is the firefighting reservoir full, maintained and operational?
- how much of the perimeter protection strip is currently properly maintained?
- has a wildfire exercise been organised and evaluated?
- have the people requiring assistance been identified?
The problem is therefore not a lack of planning. The real issue is whether these arrangements are still up to date, widely understood, properly tested and ready to be implemented immediately.
The Town Council has been contacted
On 4 August 2026, La Tribune de Planas sent the Mayor of Pratdip, Sílvia Carrillo, a detailed request covering all these questions.
The purpose of this initiative is not to cause alarm, but to ensure that residents and property owners clearly understand how Planas would be protected if a wildfire threatened the residential development.
This article may be supplemented or corrected when the Town Council provides us with more detailed or updated information.
Jim – La Tribune de Planas
Reference documents
Three documents are available for anyone wishing to consult the technical information and the measures provided for in relation to wildfire prevention, protection and emergency management:
