Respite for the inhabitants of the province of Valencia.
Emergency services and authorities announced on Saturday that the evolution of the huge Beijis fire is favorable and that its progress has been contained.
“The fire is progressing favourably.
There are no flames in most of the perimeter, ”the emergency services of the Valencia region tweeted at the start of the day.
Also according to the emergency services, it was necessary to work “in difficult-to-access ravines where there were flames”.
During a press briefing, the president of the Valencia region, Ximo Puig, also announced that "the evolution of the Beijis fire is favorable and the advance of the fire has been contained", while calling for caution, especially due to high temperatures this Saturday.
(06:35h) 🌗Actualitzación #IFBejís:
El incendio evoluciona favorably.
No hay llama en la mayor parte del perimeter.
Se ha estado trabajando con attack directo en la zona de Andilla, en barrancos de difícil acceso, donde si había llama.
— Emergencies 112CV (@GVA112) August 20, 2022
For its part, the National Security Directorate indicated that the fire extended over 135 km and that the preventive evacuation of 2,200 neighboring inhabitants was maintained as well as the confinement of some 1,500 people in two villages, Alcublas and Andilla.
Hundreds of firefighters with the reinforcement of helicopters and planes fight against this fire which started Monday in the province of Castellon.
Dangerously approaching the Sierra Calderona natural park, the Beijis fire broke out two days after that of Vall d'Ebo, in the same region.
The two fires led to the evacuation of 3,000 people.
The showers that fell in the middle of the week allowed Friday to overcome the fire of Vall d'Ebo but that of Bejis remained active.
Twelve injured in train incident
At the same time, an investigation was opened by the police, as well as within the railway company Renfe and the operator Adif, into an incident which caused a dozen injuries, including three seriously, during traffic of a train carrying around fifty passengers on Tuesday evening in the area affected by the Bejis fire.
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The driver of the train, which left Valencia for Zaragoza, had not been alerted to the danger and had to turn around in the face of the flames.
But before the maneuver was carried out, passengers panicked, screaming in terror and calling for help, some breaking the train's windows to escape on foot, according to television footage.
283,000 hectares devoured since the start of the year
According to data from the satellites of the European Copernicus program broadcast this Saturday, the Beijis fire has devoured nearly 17,500 hectares while that of Vall d'Ebo has taken away nearly 9,300. Since the beginning of the year, Spain experienced 391 forest fires and saw nearly 283,000 hectares go up in smoke, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).
This is more than three times more than in 2021.