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The fire that broke out on Sunday in the Rincón del Membrillo area of Almonte, a town in the province of Huelva and near the main entrances to Doñana National Park, was stabilised on Tuesday night at 10.15pm.

 

Firefighters are now working to bring the blaze fully under control, after it burned around 400 hectares of dunes, fishponds and scrubland in the Marismillas sector, the southwest part of the park known globally for its marshes, dunes and pine forests.

 

The area is one of “enormous ecological value” and key to the park’s biodiversity, where marshes, dunes and hunting reserves meet in a very small space. The Doñana Biological Station (EBD CSIC) described the zone as “key” for biodiversity and expressed concern about the situation.

 

Despite the fire’s severity, officials say there are “important islands” of vegetation that have not burned, and they are confident that parts of the affected area can regenerate naturally. The acting Minister of Health, Presidency and Emergencies of the Andalusian Regional Government, Antonio Sanz, said: “The severity study will surely help us determine that a large part of the affected areas can regenerate naturally, given that the affected area has not experienced a severe fire.”

 

Over the last three days, Infoca, Andalusia’s forest fire emergency service, mobilised around thirty aircraft, more than 400 professionals, 19 fire engines and four tractors equipped with a harrow. Ten aircraft were withdrawn at nightfall on Tuesday, but seven fire engines and 125 personnel remain on the ground continuing their work.

 

The fire has been hampered by high temperatures, low humidity, strong easterly winds and difficult terrain. For the second night in a row, flames were visible over the horizon from Sanlúcar, with citizens watching from the opposite side of the Guadalquivir as gusts lifted the fire into the air above the natural jewel of Huelva.

 

There are now “many suspicions” that the fire was deliberately set, because several outbreaks occurred on the same day, which investigators say is “neither logical nor usual”. Authorities have ruled out pilgrims as a cause, noting that the brotherhoods’ procession took place two days earlier and the area was left clear and cleaner than when they arrived.

 

Antonio Sanz thanked the Infoca teams for their “tremendous effort” and said the Romero Plan had been adapted for safety reasons, to avoid mixing personnel in the same area. Environmental experts, including WWF, are calling for a review of prevention periods, as fires in mid May are unusual and point to deeper issues in the park’s protection.

 

 

Image: wikicommons