The fire declared in Igualeja has not burned any chestnut areas in the Valley of Genal, and the front threatening Pujerra was halted. The cooperative Castañas del Valle del Genal breathes a sigh of relief after a night of vigilance.
The forest fire declared in Igualeja has, for now, left the chestnut areas of the Valle del Genal intact. The front that threatened to advance towards Coto and from there reach the farms in Pujerra was halted on Sunday, according to data from the second-degree cooperative Castañas del Valle del Genal.
"Right now, no chestnut area has been burned," explained the president of the cooperative, Catalina Chacón, to Diario Sur. The sector leader recounted a night of maximum tension: "We spent the night looking out the window watching the fire."
"Once it enters the Coto, it would already be heading for Pujerra"
The main concern was that the flames would surpass the Coto, an area located near Peña Blanca, because from there the fire could approach the cultivated farms. Chacón warned that the risk has not completely disappeared: "Once it passes the area of the sales and the petrol station, there are already chestnuts."
The fire started in an area with few chestnuts, which explained its initial behaviour. "Where it started, there aren't many chestnuts. That's why it didn't burn much at the beginning, because it was low scrub," detailed Chacón. The situation changed when the flames reached taller vegetation, favoured by the strong gusts of wind recorded during the night.
The other major concern of the day was the possible impact on the Sierra de las Nieves. "It's a lung we have there," summarised the cooperative president, who was anxiously following the evolution of a fire that changed direction several times during the night.
From the Mancomunidad de Municipios Sierra de las Nieves, there was also no indication by noon that the fire had entered the National Park. Its president and mayor of Istán, José Miguel Marín, explained that from this municipality, the column of smoke could be seen and that several of the aerial resources deployed for extinguishing were using the Río Verde reservoir for refills. "We have no confirmation of anything else; I don't think it has entered, at least we haven't been informed," he noted.
The good news arrived late in the afternoon when the director of the Sierra de las Nieves National Park, Rafael Haro, confirmed a favourable evolution in the sector that was most concerning due to its potential advance. He explained that after speaking with the coordinator of the agents, the teams had managed to stabilise the fire at the point where it was about to cross the road. "It is stabilised, so for now it won't advance further in that direction," he noted.
The fire is stabilised and has not affected the chestnut grove, a relief as the key campaign approaches for the municipalities of Alto Genal, including Igualeja, which has a significant area of this crop.
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