Between 60 and 100 people evicted in Benahavís due to a declared fire in Sierra Bermeja (Málaga)

Shortly after 3:00 p.m. this Wednesday, a forest fire has been declared in Sierra Bermeja (Málaga) in the municipality of Pujerra, which has forced the eviction of between 60 and 100 people from the nearby town of Benahavís to avoid "possible personal injury” in the event that “the fire could get out of control”, as reported by the President of Andalusia, Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, who has traveled to the area.

In addition, the Councilor for the Presidency of the Board, Elías Bendodo, explained that the evolution of the fire is “complicated” and the forecasts “are not good”.

The evicted neighbors live in the urbanization of Montemayor.

Moreno Bonilla has reported that three firefighters have been injured during the work of extinguishing the fire.

“They have suffered various kinds of injuries.

One of them has had burns on 25% of his body and has been transferred to the burn unit of the Malaga hospital", detailed Moreno Bonilla, who explained that the fire "looks bad due to the conditions and the extension" .

"It is a steep area with a significant density of homes that are scattered throughout the mountains, which entails a greater risk," he declared.

“We are going to be very aware of the evolution throughout the night.”

The area is hit by a dry land wind, with a power of between 25 and 40 kilometers per hour, according to the Minister of the Presidency of the Junta de Andalucía, Elías Bendodo, who has detailed that the speed of the wind makes the flames advance 30 meters per minute.

When going to the advanced command post in Benahavís, Bendodo pointed out that the weather conditions and the location "are not favourable".

The authorities have activated the alert level at 2 (in a range from 0 to 3) and estimate that around 350 troops will work throughout the night to put out the fire.

In addition, Moreno Bonilla has reported that the Military Emergency Unit (UME) has been mobilized.

“Around 100 troops will arrive around midnight, and they will join the around 200 troops that the Andalusian Forest Fire Extinction Service already has and the 50 troops from different municipalities that are going to deal with this fire.

There are 17 air assets working and they will do so until light conditions allow it”, explained the Chairman of the Board, who anticipates a “long and complicated” night.

🔴 #IFPujerra |

Means:

-15 aircraft (6 helicopters, 2 Super Pumas; 2 Kamovs, 2 cargo planes on the ground, 2 amphibians and 1 coordination plane)

-140 troops

-6 fire engines

-1 UMIF

-1 UMMT

-1 UNASIF

Wind speed makes the fire advance 30 meters per minute pic.twitter.com/LAwzPEJYeD

– INFOCA (@Plan_INFOCA) June 8, 2022

The fire has been declared in the La Resinera area, an area with a dense forest of chestnut trees that was already affected by a large forest fire in September last year and that devastated 9,670 hectares.