The fire, which has burned 4,000 hectares, is advancing strongly pushed by the west wind, and the extinguishing teams have passed through critical moments.
The forest fire that broke out on Thursday in Vilanova de Viver, in the Valencian Country, continues to burn out of control, affecting a wooded area in the Alt Millars region, in the Valencian Country.
The fire threatens the Sierra d’Espadà, an area of high natural value. The flames have consumed around 4,000 hectares and the fire has a perimeter of 40 kilometers.
The Civil Guard, which is investigating the origin of the fire, is working with “various hypotheses” and it is not ruled out that there is human negligence behind it, according to the Minister of Justice and Interior of the Valencian government, Gabriela Bravo.
À Punt points to the possibility that a clearing machine from the municipal brigade of Vilanova de Viver had caused the spark that would have started the fire. The councilor has said that she cannot confirm that cleaning work was carried out in the area, and has assured that there is still “no clear conclusion” and that, for the moment, “everything is speculation “.
The fire progressed on Friday afternoon faster than the firefighters expected, and the situation has become complicated. The extinguishing tasks have gone through critical moments when the west wind picked up strength and some of the 500 firefighters working there had to withdraw because they were in a dangerous situation.
Now the strategy of the teams working there is to try to stop the flames on the road that connects the municipalities of Montanejos and Montant with controlled counterfire.
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About 1,500 residents of small towns have been evacuated, and authorities are asking those displaced not to try to return home because the fire is uncontrolled and dangerous. The majority have been resettled in relatives’ houses and second residences, and a hundred in the sports center in Sogorb.
No further evictions are planned, but the residents already know that they will not be able to return home, at least, for a couple of days.
About twenty aerial means and ground units from the Valencian Country, Aragon, and Murcia firefighters are working on the extinguishing operation; forest firefighters, and the forest fire reinforcement brigades (BRIF) of the ministry.