The wildfire declared this Sunday in the Ermita del Rosario area, in Benahavís, has forced the evacuation of 50 residents from the Montemayor urbanisation and has left three injured. Councillor Antonio Sanz expects an "active" night despite the decrease in wind.
The wildfire declared this Sunday in the Ermita del Rosario area, in Benahavís, has forced the evacuation of 50 residents from the Montemayor urbanisation and has left three injured. This was detailed by the Councillor of the Presidency, Health and Emergencies of the Junta de Andalucía, Antonio Sanz, from the Advanced Command Post deployed in the municipality, according to Diario Sur.
Of the three people treated, one was transferred to the Regional University Hospital of Málaga with burns and remains under observation. A firefighter from Infoca suffered a wrist fracture after a fall, and another person was treated for smoke inhalation, although their home was not affected by the flames.
Sanz specified that, for the moment, no homes have been damaged by the fire, although there has been damage to terraces, entrances, and grilles. The councillor praised the work of the firefighters and the Infoca team in protecting the urbanisations.
"An active night is expected"
Regarding the evolution of the fire, the councillor explained that during the afternoon of Sunday, the fire was aided by gusts of easterly wind of up to 50 kilometres per hour and a complex topography, with ravines and basins, which generated different alignments. The priority objective is to contain the head of the fire and prevent it from advancing north, while teams also work to protect Montemayor and La Coja.
The mobilised device includes 115 personnel, 22 air assets, and two bulldozers, in addition to ground units from Brica and other emergency services. Around ten o'clock at night, a decrease in wind gusts was expected, to around 14 kilometres per hour, although Sanz emphasised that the night will be active and the device will work at maximum capacity to contain the fire.
The access road to the municipality remains closed, and it is still being assessed whether it is possible to allow the return of residents who left the town during the morning. The decision will be made together with the mayor, José Antonio Mena, and other involved authorities.
The Emergency Service 112 received a call at 12:37 PM alerting about the fire in the Ermita del Rosario area and the inhabited areas. Given the possibility that the fire could affect residents, the Emergency Agency of Andalucía (EMA) sent an Es-Alert message to the population around 2:34 PM to order confinement. Sanz commented that some residents may not have received this message, as the area where the fire originated affected the cable connection and hindered mobile communication.
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