Castellon town of Caudiel ‘surrounded’ by ‘out of control’ forest fire

The municipality of Caudiel in Castellon province is surrounded by a forest fire that is burning out of control according to the Fire Department

A forest fire that broke out today, Friday, June 17, near the small town of Caudiel in Castellon province has forced the evacuation of residents. Sources from the Provincial Firefighters Consortium reported to EFE that the flames were ‘out of control’, and had ‘left the town surrounded’, according to larazon.es.

Every effort is being made to defend the homes of some 660 residents of the Alto Palancia region, who started being evacuated at around 5pm this afternoon. Several homes are apparently already under threat from the blaze.

High temperatures are not helping, with the same sources indicating that since it is a very hot day, the wind is blowing with small gusts and the humidity is very low, so the fire “is doing whatever it wants”. In terms of size though, the fire is not expected to affect many hectares.

Jose Maria Angel, the regional secretary for Security and Emergencies,  assured that ‘the next few hours’ are going to be ‘key’ in the resolution of this forest fire. He made his comments after visiting the Advanced Command Post to analyse the evolution of the fire.

As he explained, ‘complex and complicated moments have passed in the resolution of this fire’, and the first thing, he stressed, was “to reduce the possibility that the flames would reach the municipality of Caudiel”.

Antonio Martinez, the mayor of Caudiel, explained to EFE that the entire lower area of ​​the town had been evacuated. The fire had reached “the edge with some houses and some haystacks”. He admitted his concern about the evolution of the fire. Due to the wind “the flames have already jumped a road, and if it goes through another area it can reach the entire mountain range that borders the municipality, which would be a problem”, he stated.

Reconnaissance and first intervention elements have left the Military Emergency Unit in Betera in Valencia to collaborate in the extinction work. Ximo Puig, the president of the Generalitat, indicated that he hopes that tonight the situation of the forest fire “can improve”, and that now “it is worrying”.

📹El vídeo muestra el trabajo conjunto de los #BombersForestals @GVAsgise y @BombersDipcas
en primera línea de un fuego virulento en los primeros instantes #IFCaudiel cuando las llamas se aproximaban a las casas. Continúan los trabajos junto a la @UMEgob @mitecogob

➕#Sumando https://t.co/Fkl78omBkw

— Emergències 112CV (@GVA112) June 17, 2022

Los militares de la #UME desplegados en el #IFCaudiel consolidan el perímetro y realizan tendidos de manguera para labores de liquidación en el flanco derecho pic.twitter.com/TZ6OTl6cpV

— UME (@UMEgob) June 17, 2022

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