Because of the flames that have been blazing at the foot of the Sierra Bermeja mountain range in the Andalusia region since Wednesday evening, two other communities, Júzcar and Alpandeire, had to be evacuated on Sunday, as the emergency service announced. The number of people who had to be brought out of their homes and to safety since Thursday rose to a total of 1620. It was not initially announced whether this included tourists.
“There had not been such a forest fire in Andalusia and probably also in Spain for years,” said the Andalusian regional president Juanma Moreno. Víctor Resco, professor of forest engineering at the University of Lleida, said on the radio that the cloud of fire was like a storm. They can form new fire fronts through electrical discharges. Such a forest fire is “impossible to fight”.
Due to the complicated situation, the military emergency aid unit UME has been supporting the fire brigade and civil protection with the extinguishing work since Sunday. According to official information, a total of 6,000 people were deployed in the affected region near the coastal community of Estepona and around 80 kilometers southwest of Málaga. A 44-year-old firefighter died on Thursday.
The heat of up to 30 degrees, the dryness and strong winds made the fire extinguishing work difficult, it said. Because of the thick smoke, the AP7 motorway, which is also busy with tourists in summer, has had to be closed again and again in the past few days. The cause of the forest fire was initially unknown.