Fire rapidly doused

FIRE is an ever-present risk in Alicante Province’s wooded inland areas.

Nevertheless, the Costa Blanca’s remaining semi-rural zones are at risk, too, and fire broke out earlier this week in Cap Negret (Altea).

It was rapidly extinguished despite high winds fanning the flames, but firemen at the scene were unable at this stage to say how it was started.

One fireman at the scene shrugged his shoulders when the Euro Weekly News asked for an opinion, but said off the record that it was not surprising the fire had spread, as the abandoned orange grove was full of rubbish, allowing the blaze to rip through it. 

If there was a touch of irritation in his reply, it was with good reason.  

As Alicante enters its third year of drought it doesn’t take much to start a fire, and landowners know they should cooperate by reducing the risk by ensuring that their land is kept clear of rubbish.