No 933 Monday 22nd - Sunday 28th August 2022
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G E N E R A L I T A T C O N F I R M S T H A T MOST FOREST FIRES NOW UNDER CONTROL
fter a night of intense activity, with hundreds of people trying to put out the flames, the Bejís fire "evolves favourably", according to a statement made by the emergency services on Saturday morning.
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"There are no flames around most of the perimeter although fires can still be seen in a small number of ravines that are difficult to access.” During the night, 9 units of Forest Firefighters from the Generalitat Valenciana were deployed, 9 fire engines, a volunteer brigade from Fuentes de Ayódar, 8 firefighters from Castellón and146 members of the UME. Since dawn, 12 aerial media have been provided by the Generalitat, 19 from the Government, two from the Plan INFOCAM of the Junta de Castilla la Mancha, 3 from the Catalan Generalitat and another three from the Government of Aragon. Throughout the night the 500 firemen have continued to work, while the 40 air assets rejoined at first light. This enormous human and technical effort is spread over 135 kilometers of perimeter. The first of the major fires still left to bring under control is near the El Toro military base, where the firefighters concentrated a large part of their efforts overnight. The second is in Teresa, within an already burned area, which shows what specialists have been saying since day one: the temperature inside the fire is such that significant outbreaks can still occur at any time. The third is in Andilla, where the fire surrounds the town: on Friday night it was just three kilometers from the town centre. Firefighting was intensified from dawn on Friday: although the early morning humidity helped reduce the intensity of the flames closest to the urban area, but with the arrival of the sun they regained strength. As the tables begin to turn there is cautious optimism in Viver, where the Advanced Command Post (PMA) is located, and from which the fire extinction work in Bejís is controlled. “The war is long, but this battle is now being won,” said one controller.
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