180 evacuated as fire sweeps through Arta, Mallorca

A FIRE in the Cala Torta area of Arta which forced the evacuation of 180 people is almost under control. At the time of going to press, the Councillor for the Environment of the Balearic Regional Government, Gabriel Company, had said that 75 per cent of the fire was “under control”.

He added that although the fire was not completely extinguished, the situation was “much better than last night.”

The fire broke out at around 10pm on Tuesday and had destroyed some 450 hectares, although reports claim that it has not affected the Levante Natural Park. 

Some 130 firemen were still working on the blaze which forced 180 people, many of them tourists, to be evacuated in sa Duaia, Son Barbassa, Son Terrassa and Cutri. Some people were able to return home yesterday.

Capdepera Town Hall offered space in its sports centre to people who have been evacuated and have nowhere to go.

Eighty members of the Emergency Military Unit in Valencia were brought in to help extinguish the fire. The terrain and strong winds which were blowing in the area complicated the firefighters’ work.

The blaze was so huge that in the early hours it could be seen from Menorca. Fire planes began working in the area at first light to douse the flames with water.

The fire comes just three weeks after a huge blaze destroyed more than 2,000 hectares of forest and scrub in Andratx.