Firefighters have been working since early Saturday morning to cool down the sensitive areas around the perimeter of the fire that broke out yesterday afternoon in the Casella area of Alzira, Valencia. The fire has had a favorable evolution throughout the night, according to the general assembly. “We are relatively optimistic about its evolution,” said the director general of Interior, Salva Almenar, at noon. The hundred people who were evacuated preventively on Friday will not yet return home.
Emergency coordination center sources reported that five air units had been incorporated at eight in the morning to discharge water as reinforcement for the hundred land units that had been working throughout the night and to prevent the flames from entering the natural area of La Murta and La Casella, a protected area of more than 765 hectares since 2004. This area is within the SCI of the Sierra de Corbera, between the Cavall Bernat and Les Agulles mountain ranges.
Forestry teams have been working on refreshing the perimeter, which has made little progress in the last twelve hours, according to Almenar. “The evolution of the fire is favorable, although it is not yet stabilized,” he added. However, he has called for caution since the fire faces its most complicated hours of the day due to a possible change in the wind. “We will let a few hours pass to consolidate and stabilize the fire, and we will make a decision about the return of evacuees.”
The extinction operations focus on cooling down the most sensitive points on a day when meteorological forecasts indicate that the wind could reach gusts of up to 40 kilometers per hour, a factor that hinders the work of the extinction teams due to the risk of reproduction.
Around a hundred land units remain in the area, supported by five air units, which have been gradually incorporated since early morning. Only on Friday afternoon, air units made 50 discharges over the steepest areas affected by the fire. According to initial estimates, the fire has affected about 40 hectares.
Regarding the possible causes, the director general of Interior has indicated that “they have not been determined” yet but argued that at the time of the fire’s start, “there was no meteorological or natural situation that would suggest it was caused naturally.” Thus, he has advanced the theory that there are indications that “human hands could be behind” the fire. “I’m not talking about an intentional fire, but it could be imprudence or negligence,” he pointed out, while adding that he cannot “provide further information” on this because “it is still under investigation.”