1,796 people have already returned to their homes after the wildfire declared on Thursday in Benahavís. The fire is without active flames, but 257 residents remain evacuated as a precaution.
A total of 1,796 people out of the 2,000 evacuated have been able to return to their homes following the urban forest fire declared this Thursday in Benahavís. The fire is now without flames or active fronts, while emergency services are working to secure the perimeter and cool down hot spots, according to the latest update from emergency services.
Residential Areas Regain Normalcy
The 1,013 residents of the Los Flamingos urbanisation, 687 from Parque Botánico, and 96 from the Four Seasons complex have returned to their homes. However, 257 people remain evacuated: 132 from Marbella Hills and 125 from Caserías del Esperonal. Additionally, 370 residents of the Montemayor urbanisation are still confined.
Late on Friday, the Andalusian Forest Fire Extinction Service (Infoca) reported that efforts are progressing well to declare the incident stabilised, as there are no flames or smoke after cooling down the interior following thorough work by the teams.
Emergency Response and Support for Affected Individuals
To assist those affected, the Town Hall has set up the municipal sports centre, where the Red Cross has installed around fifty beds. However, so far only about ten residents have used this resource, as most have opted to stay with family or friends, as well as in local hotels.
The Infoca Plan has deployed 122 ground personnel, 12 fire engines, and one light helicopter in the area, working to secure the perimeter. This operation is supported by the Provincial Fire Consortium of the Málaga Provincial Council, which has mobilised 23 firefighters and 12 vehicles, plus another eight personnel on standby. Of the operation, 10 firefighters and five vehicles belong to the Estepona fire station, while the rest come from the fire stations in Fuengirola, Marbella, Mijas, and Benalmádena.
Regarding traffic, the AP-7 has been reopened after being closed between kilometres 1.054 and 1.070 towards Cádiz due to the fire.
Emergency Management and Calls to 112
The Andalusian Emergency Agency has managed nearly 300 calls related to this fire. The first alerts were received around 16:30 on Thursday, reporting a fire that started in the ditch of the AP-7, near kilometre 1.068, which later spread to a wooded area near the Montemayor urbanisation.
Following the alerts, the coordinating centre activated the Provincial Operational Centre of the Infoca Plan, the Andalusian Emergency Group (GREA), firefighters from the Provincial Consortium of Málaga and the Town Hall of Marbella, the Civil Guard, local police from Estepona and Benahavís, the National Police and its Unit assigned to the autonomous community, Road Maintenance, the Red Cross, and the Emergency Health Centre 061, which mobilised the Primary Care Emergency Service Unit (SUAP) of San Pedro de Alcántara, along with volunteer groups from Civil Protection in Marbella and Estepona.
The Minister of the Presidency, Interior, Social Dialogue, and Administrative Simplification, Antonio Sanz, in his capacity as director of the Infoca Plan, elevated the emergency to an emergency phase at 17:30, operational situation 1, due to the evolution of the fire, which was initially located in the municipality of Estepona and has ultimately been situated in Benahavís. This operational situation is activated in those fires that, although they can be controlled with the ordinary means of the Junta de Andalucía, require extraordinary measures due to their magnitude.
The Government Delegate of the Junta in Málaga, Patricia Navarro, has been monitoring the evolution of the emergency from the Advanced Command Post (PMA), deployed by the GREA in the Llano de la Ermita. Residents in the affected areas can continue to consult updated information through the official channels of the Town Hall of Benahavís and Infoca.
You may also like
