Lleida is dealing with the aftermath of a fire that destroyed 80% of the Arcofrut fruit cooperative, according to its president, Pere Roqué. The cooperative brings together 50 farming families and five employees, and handles between 3.5 million and 4 million kilograms of fruit a year.
Roqué said the cold storage chambers were empty when the blaze broke out, with the peach and nectarine season due to begin in about 10 days. He said Arcofrut plans to get through this year's season by renting cold storage space while it works on rebuilding the damaged site.
He also said the sector has responded with support. “I have received calls from different cooperatives and organisations offering their support,” he said. Roqué added that this was not the first fire at Arcofrut, after another incident 25 years ago caused by a short circuit. This time, he said, the fire “came from outside”.
The Mossos d'Esquadra are investigating the origin of the fire, which affected two fruit cooperatives in Lleida. During the incident, firefighters confined about 1,300 residents in the Vila Montcada-Ciutat Jardí neighbourhood and evacuated some neighbours, who have since returned home.
Joan Josep Bellostes, head of the Lleida Emergency Region for the Fire Service, said eight fire crews were still working at the site on Tuesday. At the peak overnight, 43 vehicles were deployed. The alert came in at 22:10 on Monday, and the fire was stabilised at about 2:30 on Tuesday morning.
Protecció Civil de la Generalitat deactivated the alert for the Civil Protection Plan of Catalonia, Procicat, on Tuesday, although it remains in pre-alert as conditions improve at the two fruit companies' premises. The 112 emergency service received 244 calls at the start of the fire, and firefighters said they found a fully developed blaze with a smoke plume visible from several parts of Lleida.
Firefighters said the fire destroyed all the wooden boxes and pallets stored outside, and burned two industrial warehouses belonging to the cooperative, causing their roofs and facades to collapse. Crews are now assessing the damage to all the industrial warehouses, including those that did not burn, to establish the full extent of the impact. More Catalonia news
