16,000 evacuated by La Vall d'Uixó fire, tap water banned

Today's essentials (4 key points)

• Valencia city hall has opened its Bonos Comercio VLC 2026 scheme, giving 25 euros per resident to spend in local shops, reports Valencia Secreta.
• In Valencia city, Open-Meteo forecasts a partly cloudy day between 23 and 31 degrees, so carry water and stay in the shade at midday.
• CaixaBank is recruiting branch staff again and says its customers want face-to-face service, per elDiario.es.
• Pérez Llorca and a senior official must declare the World Cup final tickets they received as a gift to the transparency authority, reports elDiario.es.

Today's essentials

16,000 evacuated by La Vall d'Uixó fire, tap water banned. More than 16,000 people have been evacuated from La Vall d'Uixó and 18 other towns in the Castellón comarca of La Plana Baixa because of a forest fire still burning, and regional president Juanfran Pérez Llorca toured the reception centres on 29 July, according to Valencia Extra.

Valencia Extra reports that over 300 responders are deployed on the fire, including the UME (the army's emergency unit), backed by 14 aircraft. Two dependent residents were moved out of care homes, though the source does not say exactly where they were taken. Pérez Llorca, speaking earlier when the fire broke out, warned that conditions would stay difficult and that the active left front was hard for ground crews to reach, which is why aerial support matters through the day.

If you need to locate someone or are looking for shelter, six official reception centres have been named. In Nules, evacuees are being received at the Residencia Virgen de la Soledad and the Polideportivo Municipal. In La Vilavella, the Don José Alba school is open, and the town's Balneario is also in use. In Castellón de la Plana, the UJI university residence and the Penyeta Roja centre are taking people in. These are the confirmed points of care named by Valencia Extra.

The most concrete practical impact right now is water: tap water has been declared unfit for consumption in La Vilavella until further notice, and drinking water is being distributed on site. The fire began on Saturday 26 July at La Vall d'Uixó. Pérez Llorca has also framed the loss around the Sierra de Espadán natural park, one of the region's most important protected areas, and called for tougher penalties for what he described as environmental attacks.

Several things remain unconfirmed and we are not guessing at them. The number of hectares burnt does not appear in the sources consulted, and the exact status of the fire on 29 July (active, stabilised or controlled) has not been stated. The suggestion of a deliberate origin comes from the president's own words and has not been confirmed by any official investigation in the reporting seen. Where the facts are silent, we leave them silent rather than fill the gap.

What this means for you: if you have friends or family anywhere in La Plana Baixa, keep them clear of the fire zone and, in La Vilavella specifically, do not drink or cook with tap water until the ban is formally lifted. Anyone with plans to drive or hike inland from Castellón toward the Espadán area should expect access restrictions and hold off. For live instructions, rely only on 112 and the Generalitat's official channels, not on rumour.

What you need to know

• Towns affected : La Vall d'Uixó, La Vilavella, Nules, Artana and Castellón de la Plana are directly affected, alongside 18 municipalities of the La Plana Baixa comarca whose full list has not been detailed by the primary source.
• Roads closed or diverted : Not disclosed at this time in the available facts; Pérez Llorca noted the left, active front is hard for ground crews to reach.
• Official instructions : Evacuation of more than 16,000 residents is in force, along with a ban on drinking tap water in La Vilavella until further notice.
• Air quality : Not disclosed at this time in the available facts.
• Official numbers & channels : Emergencies: 112. Follow Emergencies GVA and the official Generalitat Valenciana channels for evacuation and water updates.
• Last updated : Around the president's tour of the reception centres on Wednesday 29 July 2026; the fire started on Saturday 26 July.

Situation ongoing: this article will be updated.

Weather today

Valencia today: 23 to 31 degrees and partly cloudy. Valencia city sees a partly cloudy day between 23 and 31 degrees with wind up to 17 km/h, according to Open-Meteo, so keep water on hand and take shade during the hottest hours.

Transport & traffic

• Metro fares rise while arrival screens stay broken. Metro riders on the r/valencia forum are asking when the platform screens showing the next train will be fixed, saying most stations still have them out of order even as the price of a 10-trip ticket has gone up to around 6.50 euros. For a daily commuter, the gripe is simple and real: paying more for a 10-journey ticket while the real-time arrival displays stay dark in most stations, per the r/valencia thread, means falling back on the official Metrovalencia app to know when your train is due. If you rely on the platform boards to time a connection, plan a small buffer for now, and check the app on your phone before you reach the turnstile.
• CV-383 reopens near Cheste with a safer new route. The Diputació de València has finished rebuilding the CV-383 between Cheste and Loriguilla with a new stretch of almost one kilometre that moves the road away from the ravine, according to Valencia Extra. This closes the recovery of the entire provincial road network damaged by the October 2024 DANA floods, per Valencia Extra. For drivers who use the Cheste to Loriguilla link, the practical upside is a realigned variant designed to be safer against flooding, so the detours and rough surfaces left over from the storm on that section should now be behind you.

What's changing for you

• Finding a Valencia rental off Idealista and Fotocasa. A recurring question on the r/valencia forum is where to find flats outside the big platforms like Idealista and Fotocasa without running into scams. There is no magic listing, and the honest answer is legwork: local estate agencies (inmobiliarias) with a physical office, neighbourhood Facebook and Telegram groups, and word of mouth through your own network tend to surface flats that never hit the big portals. The standard scam-avoidance rules still apply: never pay a deposit before viewing in person, be wary of a landlord who cannot meet you, and insist on a written contract before any money changes hands.
• CaixaBank hires branch staff back for in-person service. CaixaBank is reversing the sector trend and recruiting staff for its branches again, telling elDiario.es that its customers want to deal with people face to face. If you have struggled to get anything done at a branch counter, this points to more in-person capacity returning over time. The bank reports profits of 3,203 million euros to June, up 8.5 percent, per elDiario.es, and the State has drawn 2,200 million euros in dividends from its 18 percent stake between 2022 and 2026. For customers, the takeaway is practical rather than financial: staffing at the counter is being rebuilt, so branch appointments should get easier to secure.

Local news to know

• World Cup final tickets must be declared as gifts. Pérez Llorca and a senior official will have to declare the tickets they received for the World Cup final as a gift to the transparency authority, since Generalitat rules require reporting any present that exceeds the allowed value, reports elDiario.es.
• Valencia Secreta rounds up this weekend's plans. Valencia Secreta has published its usual selection of the best things to do around the city this weekend, a curated list of outings for residents planning their days off.
• Valencia gives residents 25 euros to spend in local shops. Valencia city hall has opened applications for its Bonos Comercio VLC 2026 scheme, handing 25 euros per person to spend in shops across the city, according to Valencia Secreta.
• Court backs judge in not summoning Rovira and Barrachina. The provincial court has upheld the DANA investigating judge's decision not to call Rovira and Barrachina to testify, according to Valencia Plaza.

Tonight and tomorrow, Valencia

• First pilot awnings go up in plaza España and América. Valencia Plaza reports that the city has installed its first awnings in plaza de España and plaza de América as a pilot test for its future shade plan. It is a trial rather than a finished network, so treat these two squares as the first spots where you can grab some overhead cover on a hot walk through the centre.
• D*na Festival returns to Dénia by the sea, free entry. The D*na Festival is back in Dénia for two days on the Marineta Cassiana promenade, gathering top chefs, producers and artisans for tastings and free activities by the Mediterranean, per Valencia Bonita. Expect a gastronomy-focused weekend built around sharing food, know-how and experiences on the seafront. Check Valencia Bonita for the exact programme before you set off down the coast to Dénia.

See the full agenda, tonight and tomorrow