Fire sweeps through forest area in Castalla

A fire swept through a forest area, composing mainly of pine and poplar trees, in Castalla. Firefighters were alerted to the blaze yesterday afternoon, May 31, at 6:33.pm, according to El Periodic.

Reports had been made of a large volume of smoke in the Partida La Riera are , next to a water treatment plant and near the Rio Verde.

The fire quickly spread out of control and a helicopter with a water load was requested.

Two fire engines from neighbouring Cocentaina and Ibi including two of its forest firefighting teams were quickly deployed.

Also involved were fired coordinators and an environmental officer.

Helicopter support quickly arrived, which brought the fire under control. Helicopter support was then withdrawn at approximately 7:39.pm.

At approximately 8:53.pm firefighters considered the fire extinguished.

Neither the cause of the fire nor details of how badly damaged the area is have been revealed.

Castalla is a town located in the comarca of L’Alcoià, in the province of Alicante, in a mountainous area, just 35 km from Alicante.

According to Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, ninety-five percent of forest fires in Spain are caused by human activities. A quarter of them are due to accidents and negligence, but more than half of all those that occur each year are caused intentionally.

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