Hundreds of firefighters and the UME work to control fires in Albacete and Santa Coloma de Queralt

Hundreds of firefighters and the UME work to control fires in Albacete and Santa Coloma de Queralt

Hundreds of firefighters and the UME work to control fires in Albacete and Santa Coloma de Queralt Credit: Pixabay

Hundreds of firefighters and the Military Emergency Unit UME been activated after fires broke out on Saturday.

The Military Emergency Unit (UME) was quickly activated to help fight the forest fire which broke out on Saturday afternoon in Albacete’s Lietor. The fire had already spread to the municipality of Hellin. It was affecting the Isso hamlet were 2000 residents were at risk from smoke entering the houses. The residents were urged to close their windows and keep safe.

The advanced command post for the fire had been set up on the Isso football pitch. This location was chosen to allow the close monitoring of the fire. The weather conditions in the area were considered to be extremely hot and windy.

The delegate of the Spanish Government in Castilla-La Mancha, Francisco Tierraseca, requested on behalf of the regional government that the UME troops intervene and help fight the fire too. This was requested at about 9 PM on Saturday evening. Security forces have been working alongside firefighters to extinguish the blaze since it started.

According to El Mundo, officers of the Guardia civil in both Almansa and Hellin are working in the affected area. A level II emergency was declared in the area as the smoke could affect local residents.

The fire had broken out in Lietor and was luckily detected by watchman at around 14:15 hours on Saturday afternoon. The fire has so far affected the CM-412 road which runs between between Isso and Elche de la Sierra according to the Provincial Council of Albacete.

Over 100 firefighters and the UME have also been fighting a fire in Santa Coloma de Queralt which broke out on Saturday morning in Tarragona.


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Alex
Written by

Alex Glenn

Originally from the UK, Alex is based in Almeria and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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