WATCH: Terrifying wildfire tears through the Costa del Sol
It took 14 aircraft more than 4 hours to bring the Marbella blaze under control
Agradezco el gran trabajo y profesionalidad de todos los que están participando en el #IFMarbella: bomberos municipales, Consorcio e Infoca con el apoyo de la Policía Local, Policía Nacional, Guardia Civil y Protección Civil. pic.twitter.com/aDnTk3Ib97
— Ángeles Muñoz (@AngelesMunoz_) July 22, 2024
The first major scare of the summer took place in Marbella on Monday afternoon, July 22, as the mercury crept into the 40s across the region of Andalucía. A huge forest fire ignited in the Nagüeles area at around 5pm after another scorching day, which took four hours to quench.
Around 100 firefighters tackled the blaze on the ground, while 14 aircraft sprayed water from above. Even as night fell, several patrols remained in the area, poised and ready to douse any hot spots threatening to relight.
“We had quite a scare,” Infoca sources said later.
As is all too common in these kinds of situations, the uneven terrain made their job incredibly difficult, and the afternoon temperatures and gusty wind challenged the firefighters every step of the way, especially in the afternoon.
But after around three hours, the heat cooled off and the breeze died down, and firefighters were confident they would be able to quench the flames before any more damage was done.
Initially, six aircraft were deployed to the site of the fire, two groups of forest firefighters, two fire support brigades (Brica), two operations technicians, an environmental agent, a fire truck and an Advanced Fire Analysis and Monitoring Unit (UNASIF). However, as the fire continued to spread unchecked, reinforcements were called in barely an hour later, a team that eventually reached 14 aircraft, including two semi-heavy helicopters, a super puma, two ground cargo planes, a command helicopter, four light amphibious aircraft, a FOCA seaplane and a coordination plane.
The 112 Andalusia emergency service began receiving calls almost immediately from concerned motorists reporting that the flames were nearing the AP-7 motorway. Luckily, the road didn’t have to be closed and the traffic jams didn’t cause any major problems.
According to the emergency services, no evacuations were necessary as the wildfire didn’t come close to any homes.
Image: Infoca
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