Prudence. The word was pronounced this afternoon by those responsible for the emergency teams of the Valencian Community and Aragon. And also the presidents of both autonomies, Ximo Puig and Javier Lambán, who met at the Command Post. Prudence, because although the perimeter of the fire that affects Castellón and Teruel had been contained, and the evolution in some points was already "positive", the scenario could change for the worse.
With the enormous effort of more than 600 active human forces and eighteen air units, who worked hard to create safety corridors, the flames had been prevented from gaining ground. The weather conditions at dawn on Saturday and today have helped, and a lot, because there was no west wind. But the “voracity” of the fire, in the words of Ximo Puig, and the continuous changes in the direction of the wind, could complicate everything. Prudence, they repeated.
At this time the fire had devastated some 4,000 hectares in a perimeter of between 35 and 40 square kilometers. The regional secretary for Security and Emergencies of the Generalitat Valenciana, José María Angel, commented to this newspaper that “work and time have given us a truce and there are areas that are beginning to have an optimal shape; the general evolution is positive”. But he added that the arrival of night could change the direction of the wind, and that the greatest concern was, late at night, that the flames would reach the Sierra de Espadán through the municipality of Montanejos. "We are prepared to face the situation if the scenario worsens," he added. He also stressed that, so far, no natural area in Castellón or the Valencian Community had been affected.
Ximo Puig and Javier Lambán described the action of a fire that had been fueled since Thursday by weather conditions typical of summer, with high temperatures and a west wind, as "ravenous". The Aragonese president also showed his concern about the extent of the flames in his region. In any case, the 1,500 inhabitants of different towns in the affected area were prohibited from returning to their homes, 250 of them from the Aragon area. Several of those welcomed by the Segorbe City Council recognized their "anxiety" to return home, but also their "understanding" to avoid greater evils. It was likely that in the next few hours he would be able to start the journey home.
Javier Lambán commented that "we are not used to this type of 6.0 fire, which at a certain moment becomes absolutely uncontrollable, and we are even less used to it occurring in the month of March". Human resources from the Valencian Community, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, Madrid and the Military Emergency Unit, UME, had been activated to fight the flames.
In parallel, the Civil Guard has taken a statement from four people for their alleged relationship with the origin of the fire, as explained by the Government delegate in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé. The delegate has indicated that the "human factor" at the origin of this fire can be confirmed, since apparently the flames started due to the work of some operators who were doing "some maintenance work" in the area, although she refused to confirm if they are workers from municipal brigades of the Villanueva de Viver City Council, as had been reported in various media.
