CASTILE AND LEON – Early this morning, the fire brigade managed to bring a major wildfire under control. The fire broke out on Saturday between the municipalities of Navalacruz and Cepeda de Mora in the province of Ávila. 12,000 hectares of natural land have been reduced to ashes.
The risk level of another fire in El Raso has since been reduced, but the fire service is not yet fully under control here. This was announced by the regional administration of Castile and León on social media. However, after the fire flared up again last night, fire fighting helicopters managed to stabilise the situation by early morning. After previously having to evacuate 1,000 residents from five villages in the affected area, new evacuations are no longer necessary.
Fire caused by burning car
As temperatures will drop in almost all of Spain from today, the risk of new forest fires will also decrease. The largest fire near Navalacruz started around 11.00 am on the N-502 (Ávila-Toledo) on Saturday when a vehicle broke down and caught fire. The fire spread rapidly over a circumference of 40 kilometres. 500 emergency services personnel, including 150 military personnel, had to be called in to bring the fire under control. Help has also been requested from other regions, including Galicia.
Wildfire under control
Residents of Robledillo, Riofrío, Sotalbo, Solosancho, and Villaviciosa were taken to safety. And some of them have been accommodated in convention centres in the municipality of Ávila. Mayor Jesús Martín of Solosancho stated that the fire in Navalacruz destroyed a significant part of the mountain area. “These were scary moments, but we are in good hands now. Hopefully, the farmers have been able to get their livestock to safety,” Martín told the press.
Due to the fire, part of the AV-900 had to be closed in both directions last Sunday due to the smoke development in the area.
Risk level down for fire in El Raso
On a scale of 0 to 3, the Castile and León regional government has reduced the risk level for the fire in El Raso from 2 to 1. The fire has destroyed 280 hectares of forest land, according to Mayor Carlos Montesino of this municipality. It is still unknown what sparked this fire that broke out around 5.30 pm on Saturday in the area known as the ‘Cerro del Espinazo’, on the southern slope of the Sierra de Gredos. According to the mayor, the residents of nine homes from El Raso had to be evacuated on Saturday night.
On Saturday, the fire brigade also extinguished or brought under control the other fires in Piedralaves, Casavieja, and La Parra.
