Cause Of Costa Del Sol Fire Could Be Accidental. Initial investigations into the blaze suggest it could have been sparked by accident.
Cause Of Costa Del Sol Fire Could Be Accidental
The fire which is still burning on the Costa Del Sol could have been sparked by building work on a large private estate. The blaze has decimated 3500 hectares of land in the Pujerra and Benahavis areas. It has been stabilised but is not yet “under control”. Intial investigations suggest that the fire was sparked accidentally by building work on the large La Resinera estate.
Investigators must determine if negligence contributed to the fire, which was worsened by high temperatures, low humidity, and 40 km/h winds. The 6500 hectare La Resinera estate is owned by the Libyan Foreign Bank, but was previously the property of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi who had planned to develop a luxury golf facility on the site.
Injured Fire Fighters Recovering
Three fire fighters were seriously injured whist tackling the blaze, but they have all now been released from hospital and are recoving at home. There are still 62 specialist fire fighters working on the ground along with air support trying to bring the fire under control today.
At it’s most severe point on Thursday afternoon the fire was advancing at a rate of 30 metres per minute and almost 1000 people were involved in the fight to stabilise the blaze. Spokeperson Carmen Crespo says that “there is still work to be done to control and extinguish this fire”.
Residents Return To Their Homes
Many of those who were forced to leave their homes on Thursday were allowed to return on Friday afternoon. Director Juan Sanchez explained “We are going to continue working on a perimeter that in principle is no longer advancing and that does not pose a danger to the population , therefore we are taking a weight off our shoulders and also freeing up troops for the surgical work that we have to do in the mountains.”
The fire broke out at 5.30pm on Wednesday and spread rapidly. More than 3500 hectares (35 square kilometres) of land have been consumed by the fire. The fire is burning in the Pujerra area to the south of Ronda and the Benahavis area to the north of Puerto Banus.
The first major fire of 2022 is bringing back memories of the Sierra Bermeja blaze last summer which decimated a huge area.
Published: 14.06.2022
Written by Dave James
News on 93.6 Global Radio
Keep up to date with all the latest news from the Costa del Sol with the coast’s official English speaking radio station, 93.6 Global Radio.
More Costa del Sol News Stories
Some recent headlines from the Costa del Sol. See all the 93.6 Global Radio News