Garabelos do Bouzo · Baltar, Ourense · Galicia · 8–10 August 2026
On the morning of 10 August the Xunta de Galicia reported that the Baltar fire was controlled and that its estimated area was 120 hectares. That evening it declared the fire extinguished and reported 138.82 hectares. Did another 18.82 hectares burn after control? The bulletins establish a change in the reported area. They do not establish when those hectares burned.
Reconstructing the record
| Date | What the Xunta reported |
|---|---|
| 8 August | The first notice placed the start at 12:21 in Garabelos do Bouzo. While active, the fire had affected more than 20 hectares by the initial estimate. |
| 9 August, morning | The 09:30 bulletin still listed the fire as active, with a provisional estimate of 95 hectares. |
| 9 August, afternoon | The 14:00 bulletin recorded stabilization at 13:41 and a provisional estimate of 120 hectares. |
| 10 August, morning | The 08:30 bulletin reported that the fire had been controlled since 21:42 the previous evening. The estimate remained 120 hectares. |
| 10 August, evening | The 20:30 bulletin recorded extinction at 19:42 and gave 138.82 hectares as the final affected area. |
Two clocks in the same bulletin
The control and extinction declarations are exactly 22 hours apart. That interval describes how long the fire remained classified as controlled before it was declared extinguished. Dividing the 18.82-hectare difference by those 22 hours would yield a precise-looking spread rate, but the numerator and denominator describe different things. The first area was provisional, and neither notice gives the observation time and comparable mapped boundary needed for that calculation.
The earliest figure needs different treatment again: “more than 20 hectares” is a lower bound. Recording it as exactly 20 would introduce precision the original notice never claimed. For a historical area chart, retain that qualifier and distinguish final from provisional figures. For a response timeline, use the declared status times rather than the bulletin deadlines.
Evidence limits
These five notices are successive reports from one authority. They let a reader reconstruct what the public could know at each stage. They do not independently validate the perimeter, identify an ignition cause or demonstrate a post-control escape. The final bulletin also covers other Galician fires; figures belonging to other municipalities are excluded from this case.
Sources reviewed 4 November 2026.