The forest fire declared this Friday in the Casella de Alzira area (Valencia) is evolving "very favorably" and the fire is expected to stabilize in the next few hours, after burning some 40 hectares of land and forcing the eviction of a hundred people preventively.
During the morning of this Saturday, the work of the media deployed has focused on sealing the affected perimeter and cooling the hot spots closest to the Murta, as explained by the Director General of the Interior of the Generalitat, Salvador Almenar.
100 ground troops and five air assets remain working in the area and the weather forecast calls for occasionally moderate winds with gusts of easterly winds that can reach 40 kilometers per hour. Most of the land media are located in the Casella area, while the aerial ones cool access to the natural area, "crushing the hottest areas and cooling the entire perimeter."
On the scope of the fire, Almenar has pointed out that the first estimates of the Consortium speak of an extension of about 40 hectares. "Therefore, we are not facing a large forest fire, but it is true that we are very concerned about the potential of this fire, which could have reached 5,000 hectares if it had gotten out of control," he indicated.
Asked about the possible causes of the fire, he has indicated that so far "they have not been determined" but has argued that at the time the fire started, this Friday, there was "no meteorological or natural situation that would suggest that it had occurred by natural causes."
Thus, he has advanced that there are indications that "the hand of man could be behind" the fire. "I am not talking about an arson attack, but that it could be imprudence or negligence," he pointed out, while adding that he cannot "advance more information" in this regard because "it is something that is still in the process of investigation".
About the hundred people evacuated, the director general has stressed that at this time "it is not on the table" that they can return to their homes. In this regard, he has called for "caution" since the fire faces "the most complicated hours of the day" due to a possible change in wind. "We are going to allow a few hours to consolidate and stabilize to make the decision," he said.
Facing the second half of the day, he has indicated that the forecasts could cause the extinction strategy to change, although he has pointed out that it is not expected that it will blow west. "That's good news in terms of moisture loading," she added.
