The Los Gallardos fire, the most tragic in the history of Andalusia, is now stabilized and contained. After causing the death of twelve people, the fire declared on Thursday in the Almocáizar district is on its way to being controlled and extinguished after three days of fierce combat involving up to five hundred personnel from the Infoca Plan and the UME, and up to 30 planes and helicopters. The burned area reaches 7,000 hectares, with a perimeter of 40 kilometers, according to updated data provided this Sunday by the president of the Junta of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, from the advanced command post located in Turre.
The turning point in the fight against this fire occurred yesterday, Saturday, when the wind, a factor that has been decisive in the advance of the flames, decreased significantly while the relative humidity level increased. This allowed the shift from defense against the fire to attack, and during the night progress was made to the point that during this day all evacuees, who numbered more than 1,500, will be returning to their homes.
The return of the evacuees, the president of the Junta specified, will be done gradually “with all guarantees and precautions” and Moreno reminded that the directives issued by emergency services are “instructions” and, therefore, mandatory.
The 600 neighbors who were already allowed to return to their homes yesterday will be joined this Sunday by another thousand, all those who remained evacuated, a “very positive” news, according to the Andalusian president, who pointed out that this is “the beginning of the end” of the Los Gallardos fire.
Moreno highlighted the speed at which, at some point, the fire advanced. To the extent that this disaster is considered the fastest to have occurred in Andalusia and one of the fastest recorded in Spain.
The positive evolution of the fire will allow a “de-escalation” of the operation deployed in the Levante Almeriense, so that about 90 personnel will remain on the ground and the members of the Military Emergency Unit will end their participation this Sunday and return to their bases.
It is also expected that the search and tracking efforts for new victims in the area affected by the flames will end this Sunday after the last sweep being carried out by specialized Civil Guard agents with the support of canine units. Eight people are officially missing while the identification of the twelve people who died fleeing the flames has not yet been completed.
The president of the Junta warned that “we are still in mid-July” and there is much summer ahead in which the risk of fires will be extreme. On average, up to 22 fire outbreaks are recorded daily in Andalusia, so he has called for maximum caution in the face of a “complicated summer”.