Wildfire spreads under Solúcar solar plant in Seville province
May 2026Published 31 Oct 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
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What happened
On the afternoon of Sunday 31 May 2026, a fire that began as a forest fire in a wooded area near the Solúcar solar plant in Sanlúcar la Mayor, Seville, spread to the plant. Flames advanced on several fronts and partly affected the installation, mainly because they spread into the vegetation growing under the solar panels. Plan Infoca activated two helicopters, two brigades, a group of forest firefighters and an operations technician.
Six provincial fire stations were mobilised, including stations of the Diputación de Sevilla's provincial consortium in Sanlúcar la Mayor, Santiponce, Mairena del Aljarafe, La Rinconada, Pilas and Gerena. By the time the report was published, Infoca and provincial firefighters were still working at the site without aerial resources. The plant is reported to operate commercially at 183 MW. The extent of the damage to the installation is not reported.
Contributing factors
The source states that the fire started in a forest area near the plant and that flames spread under the solar panels into the vegetation there. The source does not state the cause of the original forest fire or the condition of the vegetation management at the site.
Lessons learned
- Operators of ground-mounted solar sites should keep vegetation under and between arrays managed, since dry growth under panels can carry fire into the installation.
- Firebreaks and clear perimeters around solar plants in wildfire-prone areas reduce the chance that external fires reach equipment.
- Operators should agree coordination arrangements with regional wildfire services and local fire brigades in advance, so that site access and response are clear when a fire starts nearby.
More lessons on maintenance, inspection and ageing assets, weather and external hazards, from every incident on the register.
Source
Published 2026-10-31. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
