València firefighters, around thirty in 15 units, in addition to agents from the provincial Consortium and the forestry brigades, have been working since this afternoon to extinguish a forest fire declared El Saler, which has forced the establishment of situation 1 of the Special Plan of Forest Fires. At the moment there are five towers of buildings evacuated, with 30 evicted people who have been transferred for their safety to the Sidi Saler hotel - closed to the public and in a state of abandonment - and another three have been treated for smoke inhalation. Currently, an air force from the Generalitat Valenciana is also working to put out the fire in different controlled points.
The latest news was provided by the Valencia Fire Chief, Enrique Chisbert, who explained that the fire is evolving favorably and that although it cannot yet be considered controlled, they hope to stabilize it in the next few hours. "The wind was strong and it may be that some outbreaks that have been seen are the result of the same column," explained Chisbert.
Previously, the spokesperson for the Valencia City Council, Juan Carlos Caballero, had taken stock from the Advanced Command Post that has been established in the fire station located in Devesa del Saler, and where the mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá, has also attended. .
The fire chief has explained that there are many fires with strong winds. "We cannot say that it was provoked, but draw your own conclusions," he said.
The CV-500 highway is closed from El Perellonet and from El Saler to control access to the affected area.
Emergencies of the Generalitat Valenciana reported this afternoon of another fire declared in Simat de la Valldigna, in the area of the Malet ravine, to which two units of forest firefighters and an aerial vehicle have been deployed. He hasn't been the only one. Another fire has also been declared in Ràfol de Almunia, in the Marina Alta, where the helicarried unit of forest firefighters has had to withdraw due to the strong wind.
The fire is demanding a lot from the members of the Alicante Provincial Firefighters Consortium who are working to extinguish two forest fires in Sella and Ràfol d'Almúnia. In both cases, the wind is making it difficult to use aerial means, as well as the efforts to extinguish the fires.
As for the Sella fire, it occurred in the upper part of the Racó area, approximately at kilometer 15 of the CV-770, and the firefighters received the notification around 3:20 p.m., as indicated by the Consortium in a communicated, and is dominated by a large main focus, which forms a large column of smoke. The strong turbulence and winds are preventing the use of aerial means, although there is an Alpha 01 helicopter that is able to fly.
Regarding the Ràfol d'Almúnia fire, it takes place on the CV-729, between this town and Sane, and the firefighters received the notification around 3:50 p.m. This is a forest fire in a mountainous area with trees.
In this case, a command headquarters unit, a heavy rural pumper, a heavy nurse pumper, a sergeant, a corporal and six firefighters from the Dénia park, in addition to two forest firefighter units, have been mobilized. The air force had to withdraw due to the strong wind in the area.
These fires were declared on a day in which the yellow level had been decreed due to winds in the southern interior of Castellón and throughout the interior and northern coast of the province of Valencia and preventive surveillance flights had been scheduled due to the risk of forest fires, as established by the Special Plan for Forest Fires in the Valencian Community.
