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The fire that broke out last Thursday in Niebla has forced the evacuation of the population centres of cities west of Sevilla: Berrocal, El Membrillo, El Pozuelo and Marigenta, according to Andalusia’s Forest Firefighting Service (INFOCA). The burnt area now exceeds 4,000 hectares, and around 400 people have been evacuated.
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Overnight, 150 forest firefighters worked on the ground.
Andalusia’s regional minister for the Presidency, Health and Emergencies, Antonio Sanz, said that the Level 2 fire remains extremely complex 48 hours after it started, due to constant wind shifts and the spread of burning embers.
Third Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, is scheduled to visit the Advanced Command Post in Niebla this Sunday, where she will meet those in charge of the emergency response.
Tírig in Castellón regains air support
Aircraft joined the firefighting operations at the Tírig blaze, on the east coast of Spain, at dawn this Sunday, which yesterday forced the confinement of the municipality of Catí, with around 700 residents. They are expected to remain in action at least until the end of the afternoon, when the next Cecopi coordination meeting is scheduled.
About 200 ground crew members worked through the night on containment tasks, hampered by the terrain and the succession of ravines, according to Castellón’s Provincial Fire Consortium. The Valencian regional government’s Minister of Emergencies and Interior, Juan Carlos Valderrama, said the fire has burned 395 hectares within a 15-kilometre perimeter, and that 300 personnel, 19 aircraft, and 50 ground units were deployed.
Valderrama noted that Level 2 remains in force and that the northern and southern sectors are of greatest concern. He added that it is too early to speak of stabilisation, although the forecast conditions for the coming night should be favourable, as they were the previous night.
The Tírig fire is one of four blazes declared on Friday afternoon in inland Castellón, which together have affected around 244 hectares according to the latest provisional data. As for the cause, the working hypothesis is that lightning strikes during Friday’s storms triggered the fires, pending the Seprona environmental unit’s investigation.
Sierra Engarcerán fire now under control
The fire declared on Friday in the Sierra Engarcerán, south of Tírig in Castellón, is now under control, the Emergency Coordination Centre of the Valencian Community confirmed this Sunday. After Saturday’s Cecopi meeting, it was reported that this fire has affected 45 hectares within a 4-kilometre perimeter.
In recent hours, the confinement order for the town has been lifted. The 91 residents who were evacuated have been able to return to their farmhouses, and the 11 who had been taken to the Els Ibarsos sports centre have also left the temporary shelter set up there.
