The AP-7 has registered at least 18 truck fires in Catalonia between March 2021 and May 2026, with a clear concentration in the corridor between Tarragona and Barcelona. The balance includes total closures of the highway, kilometer-long traffic jams, and repeated deployment of the Generalitat Firefighters, Mossos d'Esquadra, and emergency services.
The repetition of these incidents coincides with the increase in heavy traffic after the elimination of tolls in September 2021. In that same period, the road has seen a string of fires and accidents involving articulated vehicles at various points along the Catalan route, with Tarragona as the main focal point.
Tarragona accumulated the majority of fires since March 2021
The first case in this series dates back to March 31, 2021, when a truck loaded with oranges caught fire. From then on, incidents have been repeating, especially in the province of Tarragona.
L'Hospitalet de l'Infant, L'Ampolla, L'Aldea, Mont-roig del Camp, Cambrils, and El Vendrell are among the affected municipalities. In all these episodes, the incidents have altered traffic on one of the main freight routes on the Catalan coast.
In addition to fires, the highway has experienced accidents involving heavy-tonnage vehicles and sensitive cargo. In May 2026, for example, a collision between two trucks in Castellet i la Gornal, one of them loaded with aerosols, forced the activation of the Transcat plan due to the presence of dangerous goods.
The El Vendrell section saw two truck fires in two weeks in 2026
In 2026 alone, five truck fires had already been recorded on the Catalan section of the AP-7. Two of those cases were concentrated in just two weeks in El Vendrell, involving a refrigerated truck carrying fruit and a vehicle transporting garlic.
Both incidents caused traffic disruptions and damage to the asphalt. This pattern adds to a sequence of incidents that has also led to complete closures of the AP-7 and long traffic jams at various points along the route.
Outside of Tarragona, 2025 saw another significant incident in Riudellots de la Selva, where a diesel tanker caught fire. The nature of the cargo increased the complexity of the intervention and again affected mobility on the highway.
Reports and transport unions have been warning of the increase in traffic pressure on this infrastructure since the abolition of tolls. This increase in heavy traffic coexists with a succession of incidents that have required recurrent intervention on the axis between Tarragona and Barcelona.
The L'Aldea fire left one driver dead in October 2025
The most serious episode in the series occurred in October 2025 in L'Aldea, in the Baix Ebre region. There, a driver died who was trapped in the cabin after his vehicle caught fire.
That accident forced the road to be closed and caused traffic jams. Within the count of at least 18 fires since March 2021, that case was the only one with a fatal victim in the available data.
The count places at least 18 truck fires registered on the Catalan AP-7 between March 31, 2021, and May 2026.