At least 300 residents of three urbanizations in Mijas (Málaga, 92,920 inhabitants) were evacuated this Sunday due to a forest fire that broke out in the early hours of the morning and also resulted in the closure of the A-387 road. Five aircraft, three fire engines and 70 forest fire fighters are deployed in the area to extinguish the flames, although strong onshore winds with gusts of up to 80 kilometers per hour make their work difficult, as reported by the Forest Fire Extinction Service in Andalusia (Infoca). The Delegate of the Junta de Andalucía, Patricia Navarro, has activated level 1 because the fire poses a threat to the surrounding residential areas, all located northwest of the city of Mijas. The displaced were taken to a sports center where some of them were treated for smoke inhalation.
The first alarms about the fire went off shortly after 4 a.m. At dawn, up to a hundred people called the Andalusian emergency service 112 to report that there were flames and large clouds of smoke in the area of Venta de los Condes, south of the Sierra de Mijas and northwest of the city of Málaga. Due to the proximity of the scattered houses in the Valtocado urbanization, a hundred people were evicted early in the morning and taken to the Osunillas sports hall, where the facilities were set up as a shelter. Several of them were treated by the Red Cross and the medical service on 061 and suffered smoke inhalation. They also received psychological care “out of concern” about what was happening, as the mayor of Mijas, Ana Mata, explained. “We hope that the fire can be brought under control during the day,” said the councilor, who has mobilized all firefighters, local police and civil protection in Mjieño municipality. At around noon, the Council announced the preventive evacuation of the residents of the urbanizations of Rincón del Hinojal and Lomas del Flamenco, as well as the original perimeter of the Mijas Golf area, although in the rest of the area accommodation in houses is recommended due to the smoke, which is very dense and already one Much of Malaga’s coast is covered.
🔴 #IFMijasVenta Los Condes area.
WE UPDATE MEDIA:
🚁2 heavy helicopters (K70, K40, Super Puma),
👨🚒 1 emergency technician, 5 forest fire groups and 1 environmental officer
🚒 3 heavy fire engines pic.twitter.com/N2tXS9ynno— INFOCA (@Plan_INFOCA) November 12, 2023
The Osunillas Sports Center also hosted the command post to direct operations against the fire that closed the A-387 highway between Alhaurín el Grande and Benalmádena. The delegate of the Junta de Andalucía, Patricia Navarro, activated level 1 early in the morning due to the danger that the fire poses to the surrounding population. Various firefighters from Mijas, Fuengirola, Marbella and Benalmádena, as well as Infoca teams, were sent to the area where the fire spread. A total of 70 specialists are on site, supported by three fire engines and five aircraft: three helicopters and two amphibious aircraft.
For now, the priority is to stop the advance on the left side, closest to the Valtocado urbanization, as Infoca reports. The work is not easy. It was reported by the Junta de Andalucía that the fire is spreading at a speed of about 30 meters per minute and that terrestrial winds, with an average speed of about 35 kilometers per hour and gusts of over 80 kilometers per hour, are making it difficult to extinguish. Two other factors also contribute to this: “The humidity is not favorable and the temperature is also not normal at this time of year,” explained Navarro. Due to the lack of rain, the country is also very dry. In fact, a few days ago the regional administration declared that there were “severe and exceptional shortages” on the Costa del Sol due to the drought.
The fire occurred south of the Sierra de Mijas, in an area close to the area that was already burning in the summer of 2022. The fire then ravaged almost 2,000 hectares in a wooded area of the public forest in the municipal areas of Mijas, Alhaurín el Grande and Alhaurín de la Torre, where about 2,300 residents were then evacuated due to the risk of flames.
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