The fire declared at noon on Sunday in the Alicante mountains of Tàrbena, which also affects the municipality of Parcent, is still active, after burning nearly 580 hectares. This is a first official estimate collected by the reconnaissance flights, although the Autonomous Secretary of Emergencies, Javier Montero, warned this Monday that the terrain is very steep and, therefore, it is now difficult to accurately provide this type of calculations. Last night it emerged that the number of hectares affected in the La Marina Baixa region was 800.
It is the first major fire of the year in the Valencian Community, which at the end of March 2023 suffered a devastating fire, which started in Villanueva de Viver and devastated almost 5,000 hectares of the mountainous interior of Castellón, above all, and also Teruel. The burning of agricultural stubble is the first hypothesis that the investigation considers as the cause of the fire in Tàrbena. The one in Villanueva de Viver was allegedly caused by sparks from a brushcutter machine during forest clearing work. In both cases, the flames spread very quickly thanks largely to the strong and unusual heat, the wind and the large forest mass accumulated in the mountains.
Montero has reported that three firefighters have been slightly injured during the night: one with a blow to the head, another to the back and a third with an injury that has not been specified but is not serious. The conditions of the terrain and the intensity of the flames have forced the security of the troops to take extreme measures. “The night was less favorable than expected due to the weather, but it seems to be improving,” he noted. Firefighting professionals hope to stop the flames “as soon as possible”, given the change in these weather conditions. The mayor of Tárbena, Francisco Javier Molines, has expressed himself in the same sense, above all, because “the wind has died down.”
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At the moment there is no evidence that any home has burned down, but preventive evictions continue. “Those affected are almost all foreigners who have gone to the homes of relatives or friends. At the request of the mayor, more than 50 beds have been made available in the Tàrbena culture house, but they are not the first option for those evicted. It is still early for them to return,” explained the person in charge. It is estimated that there are around 180 evicted.
The terrain is very mountainous, populated mainly by pine trees. The flames have spread especially through the Serra del Ferrer and the Penya del Coll de Rates. It is a very unpopulated area, of great scenic beauty, a common destination for hikers. It has some houses scattered throughout the mountains, including an alternative commune that also had to be evacuated due to the danger of smoke and the proximity of the flames, despite the initial resistance shown by its residents, according to the newspaper. Lift-EMV.
In Tàrberna there are 630 people registered and it has the philological peculiarity of preserving the article salat which was used by the old Mallorcan settlers who repopulated the municipality, after the expulsion of the Moors in 1609. In neighboring Parcent, about 900 people live.
Fifteen fire crews from the Alicante Provincial Consortium, ten forest firefighting units from the Consell, several teams from the UME and two forest firefighting units from Murcia, among other specialists, work in the area.
Montero has indicated that throughout this Monday the Consell will issue an order to suspend agricultural burning until conditions allow it with the aim of “avoiding this type of events” since, apparently, the origin of the fire is precisely in a stubble burning.
Firefighters on the warpath
Precisely, the deputy Gerard Fullana, from Compromís, today demanded explanations from the Consell for the “obvious contradictions” in the prediction of the risk of fire in the affected area, which “were not coincident between AEMET (State Meteorological Agency), which places to the region at a high level of fire risk, and the Department of the Interior. “Why have agricultural burning been allowed when we had already had a fire a few days ago for these reasons? Why is there a high risk this morning when conditions are more favorable against fires than yesterday? There are obvious contradictions in the forecast and this is at the origin of the fires,” he says in a statement. Fullana, precisely, was hiking in Tàrbena on Sunday when he witnessed the start of the fire and called 112.
The PSPV, for its part, demands the appearance of the president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, of the PP, and the Minister of the Interior, Elisa Núñez, of Vox, in Les Corts to give explanations about the Tàrbena forest fire. The PSPV registers the request for Mazón and Núñez to appear along with a battery of questions to “know what troops the Generalitat really has to deal with the fires, because as of April 15 the situation is already getting out of control.” Her spokesperson, José Muñoz, has reproached the counselor for “systematically denying climate change” and has warned that “the forest firefighters are on a war footing” and will hold a rally this week that “even makes more sense” due to this fire.
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