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Date Published: 17/08/2022

ARCHIVED - Perimeter of wildfire raging in Alicante, Spain declared stable after rain in the area

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The blaze, which started on Sunday August 14 has already destroyed 11,000 hectares on the Costa Blanca

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Perimeter of wildfire raging in Alicante, Spain declared stable after rain in the area

Alicante Provincial Fire Department has declared the perimeter of the spectacular blaze that has raged in the Vall d'Ebo for four days "stable" following rain, a slight drop in temperatures and increased humidity.

The huge forest fire,which is by no means extinguished, has already destroyed 11,700 hectares of land, 700 of them on Wednesday August 17, and forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 people in a dozen municipalities.

However, the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has issued a yellow warning and stated that the possible arrival of storms has the potential to "generate severe phenomena", which could affect the area of the Vall d'Ebo inferno.

The Valencian Government's Emergency Service reported on its social networks early this morning (Wednesday) that the fire "has not changed significantly overnight" and "continues to be active on all fronts".

However, 112 also revealed that, due to the increase in humidity, the flames were advancing more slowly and "a favourable evolution is expected throughout the day".

Since this morning, 30 ground Alicante fire crews have been working to extinguish the flames together with 13 units of forest firefighters from the Regional Government Service and 4 BRIFOS from the Valencian Provincial Consortium.

Impresionantes imágenes de esta noche y esta mañana del trabajo terrestre de 👨‍🚒🚒 en Vall d’ Ebo. 11500 hectáreas quemadas y un perímetro aproximado de 80 km. Mucho animo a todos los cuerpos emergencias ! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 #bomberos #cpba #enaccion pic.twitter.com/cJXLoC0jVo
— Consorcio Bomberos Alicante (@BomberosDipuALC) August 17, 2022

At midday, 20 aerial resources together with the HLC of the Military Emergency Unit were active, five more than there were on Tuesday. The governments of the Region of Murcia and Castilla-La Mancha have also collaborated by offering additional ground and aerial resources.

But at around 5.45pm on Wednesday, aerial resources deployed to tackle the flames had to withdraw back to their bases due to rain and hail in the towns affected by the fire, which have spread as far as the north of Valencia province.

Fageca is one of the dozen towns evacuated over the last four days, and in a statement, the Town Hall said the "evolution of the fire is very favourable".

The local government also indicated that the fire has been brought under control in Tollos, and in Benimassot "it has passed over the village and has not affected the houses despite the fact that it remains active".

Fageca Town Council added that the outbreak in Famorca-Castells is "relatively under control" and that it is "very difficult for it to go up to Serrella", one of the fears shared on Tuesday by both the mayors and the emergency services.

The town's mayor, Ismael Vidal, said the outbreaks are "not controlled as such", but "calm", and that the biggest outbreak is now between Benimassot and Balones where there is "the greatest danger from the fire", based on information from the Guardia Civil and fire service.

However, "everything depends on the wind", and residents have not been able to return to their homes.

The Generalitat Emergency Service has closed eight roads in the Vall d'Ebo area, six in the Marina Alta and two in El Comtat, including the CV-754 between Quatretondeta and Fageca, which was closed today.

As stated, the evolution of the fire depends heavily on the weather with rain, hail and wind expected for the remainder of Wednesday. Isolated showers and light variable winds are forecast on Thursday August 18, according to the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet).

Images: Consorcio Bomberos Alicante

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