Forest fire rages on the Costa del Sol - thousands of people evacuated

Created: 06/09/2022, 13:41

By: Martina Lippl

Forest fires rage in Spain: firefighters fight the flames.

© Alex Zea/dpa

Hundreds of firefighters battle wildfires in southern Spain.

Strong winds keep fanning the flames on the Costa del Sol.

Thousands of people had to leave their homes.

Marbella – The forests are burning on the Costa del Sol.

More than 3,000 people had to be brought to safety in Spain last night.

Strong winds and heat make extinguishing work difficult.

It is unclear why the fire broke out on Wednesday (June 8).

The flames threaten the 8,000-inhabitant community of Benahavis and the 300-inhabitant village of Pujerra.

Both villages are around a hundred kilometers west of Málaga in southern Spain.

It was initially unknown whether tourists were affected by the evacuations - the region is considered a holiday stronghold.

Like the Spanish newspaper

, the emergency services are trying to encircle the fire to bring the fire under control.

Spain: Fire in the holiday region on the Costa del Sol continues to spread

The area is steep and difficult to access.

Extinguishing from the air with airplanes and helicopters has so far been impossible due to thermal inversion.

However, an improvement in the situation with weaker winds is expected in the course of the day.

500 emergency services from the fire brigade, civil defense and the military emergency aid unit UME are deployed in the region, as the emergency service of the Andalusia region announced on Twitter.

According to official information, buildings were not initially affected.

Three firefighters were injured, reports Spanish

.

Forest fires in Spain: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez speaks of a "difficult night" for the residents

The residents of the Sierra Bermeja have now experienced "a difficult night" again, wrote Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Twitter.

The socialist politician expressed his solidarity with those affected.

The affected area on the Sierra Bermeja mountain range was devastated by a six-day forest fire last September.

At that time, more than 9000 hectares of forest were destroyed.

This corresponds to the area of ​​around 13,000 football pitches.

Authorities were convinced at the time that the fire was the work of arsonists.

However, the perpetrators could not be identified.