Authorities are investigating a suspected arson campaign against a restaurant in central Lleida after fire destroyed the establishment in the early hours of Tuesday morning. This marks the second such attack in less than a week.
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A ferocious blaze completely gutted the La Forastera restaurant, located in the city’s Plaça de Cervantes. Emergency services responded at around 2 a.m. on 24 February after a local resident alerted the 112 emergency line, seeing flames inside the closed premises. This prompted a large-scale response.
Catalonia’s fire service, the Bombers de la Generalitat, dispatched five crews to the scene. Officers from the Mossos d’Esquadra and Lleida’s local police, the Guàrdia Urbana, also attended. Emergency teams found the fire well-developed upon arrival. Despite their efforts, flames completely consumed the restaurant before crews could extinguish the blaze.
Fortunately, the building’s upper floors, housing offices and another restaurant, were unoccupied and sustained no damage. Authorities reported no injuries in the incident. Once ventilated and safe, Mossos d’Esquadra investigators entered the charred premises, determining someone deliberately started the fire.
A Pattern of Attacks
Authorities are alarmed as this marks the restaurant’s second targeting in just six days. On 18 February, assailants set the premises on fire shortly after burgling them.
Catalan news outlet El Caso reported the first incident occurred around 3 a.m. Assailants smashed a window with a stone planter from the street to gain entry, then stole money from the cash register before fleeing. Minutes later, someone reported a fire inside the restaurant.
The Mossos d’Esquadra, already alerted to the robbery, arrived first and attempted to tackle the flames with an extinguisher before fire crews took over. That initial fire caused limited damage, affecting two freezers, some decorative elements, and part of the stockroom.
Investigation Focuses on a Deliberate Campaign
The Catalan police force is now investigating both fires, with a leading theory that the two events are directly linked. Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that the initial robbery was merely a pretext for a failed arson attempt. They suspect the perpetrator returned days later to finish the job, perhaps after failing to cause significant damage the first time.
The deliberate targeting of a local business has sent a chill through the community in Lleida, a city more recently in the news for civic matters. Meanwhile, the city council is debating reinstating the ‘white week’ school holiday, while residents face growing economic pressures as Lleida’s average rent recently surpassed €600 for the first time. The investigation into the restaurant fires continues, with parallels to other recent arson cases in Catalonia, including an incident in Tarragona where police arrested a man after he set multiple fires.
The investigation remains active as police work to identify the individual or individuals behind the repeated attacks on La Forastera.
