A fire that has broken out since the end of last week has burned more than 200 hectares of land in the north of Burgos, on the border with Cantabria. According to residents of this mountainous region, the flames began on Friday on the Espinosa de los Monteros mountain (Burgos) and increased in intensity from Sunday, when the fire was finally classified as danger level 1 out of a maximum of 3. Firefighters have difficulty extinguishing the fire in rooms that are difficult to access due to the terrain, so only aerial means can be used. Castile and León and Cantabria have mobilized their troops to try to eradicate it, which have also been joined by those of the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
The flames have reduced their impact in the southern area of the Burgos Mountains, in the areas of Estacas de Trueba, while on the northern side, the Pico de la Miel (Cantabria), the outbreaks are still active and firefighters are in difficulty to cope with them. . The territorial delegate of the Junta de Castilla y León in Burgos, Roberto Saiz, considers that the southern part of the fire has been “stabilized”, but emphasizes that it is still “very active” on Cantabrian soil. The Cantabrian government has mobilized a helicopter and ground resources. Pablo Palencia, Cantabria's environment minister, has highlighted the complexity of the task: “It is an inaccessible area and it will take a long time to control the flames that are ravaging both the south and north sides of the valley.”
The “Maya Dama” helicopter of the Government of Cantabria during its participation in the eradication tasks coordinated by the Junta de Castilla y León.Government of Cantabria
Cantabria maintains wildfire alert level 2 in 8 of its 13 forest regions: Liébana Occidental, Liébana Oriental, Nansa, Cabuérniga, Besaya, Pas, Pisueña-Miera and Asón.
Despite the current winter season, the high temperatures of these weeks and the lack of rainfall are favoring the spread of the flames, especially in areas with little forest, such as those affected between Burgos and Cantabria.
Diego de la Iglesia, a neighbor who lives near the fire, explains that the first sparks appeared last Wednesday evening, January 31, as evidenced by a webcam from a nearby country house. That day the sky was clear and there was no storm. “The fire was very strong for the first two days, but then it came to a big stop, you could only see a cloud of smoke, and then on Saturday afternoon it came back to life,” he emphasizes, showing photos of the development of the flames.
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