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ARCHIVED - Costa Blanca bush fire forces evacuation of 200 residents and destroys 100 hectares of forest
The blaze in the Alicante town of Aigües de Busot was finally brought under control on Tuesday morning, January 17
A forest fire that raged for more than 24 hours forcing the evacuation of 200 residents in the Alicante town of Aigües de Busot has been brought under control.
The blaze has caused extensive damage, destroying around 100 hectares of bush and pine trees, with strong winds fanning the flames and hindering firefighting efforts.
Flames were first reported at the rear of Cabesot at 7.30am on Monday January 16, and, given the fire's proximity to houses, 'situation 1' of the Special Plan for Forest Fires was established and 200 residents were told to leave their homes as a precautionary measure.
The majority of evacuations were homes on the Sierra Marina urbanisation, but also streets Atalayas and El Molí in the town centre.
The fire was considered "stabilised" by the Alicante Provincial Fire Brigade at around 1pm on Monday afternoon, and the residents were able to return to their homes from 5pm onwards.
The flames were deemed "completely under control" at 8am on Tuesday January 17.
Compartimos video de las tareas de extinción del #IFAigües en el que un total de 46 bomberos en 15 vehículos, más @GVAbforestals seguimos ocupados. Unas 90 hectáreas aproximadamente y desalojadas 2 urbanizaciones @GVA112 #cpba #EnAccion #Bomberos pic.twitter.com/gdaDD2Jee2
— Consorcio Provincial Bomberos Alicante (@BomberosDipuALC) January 16, 2023
According to Aigües de Busot Mayor, Jordi Mourisco, there has been no personal damage or damage to homes reported, "but the fire generated a lot fear due to the proximity of the flames to houses":
According to the forestry coordinator of the Fire Brigade Consortium, Antonio Córdoba, firefighting work was "complicated from the outset due to the strong north wind, which meant that the aerial resources that had been mobilised had to be withdrawn".
Land resources were reinforced with 13 different provincial fire crew on the ground, together with four teams from the Valencia Government forest brigade that were heli-transported to the scene. Some 47 firefighters battled the blaze equipped with 15 pumps and other vehicles.
The mayor has since told press that "the cause of the fire is being investigated", but early indications suggest that it could be linked to an Iberdrola electricity pylon.
Some local residents reportedly saw a spark on the tower just before the fire broke out.
"We have informed Iberdrola of the possible detachment of a part of the tower and we will wait for the experts and investigators to confirm the exact cause of the fire and if it is due to a fault on one of the pylons. We demand greater safety," added the mayor.
On Sunday morning, flames ripped through a motorhome in Jacarilla, Alicante, spreading quickly to two nearby caravans, trees, street furniture, vegetation and a nearby real estate sales booth. The cause of this earlier fire is still under investigation.
Image: Consorcio Provincial Bomberos Alicante
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