Thanks to the “intense work” of firefighters and technicians of Plan Infomur, the regional fire fighting force, the extinction of the four forest fires in the Murcia region “is going well” and the fires should be under control within a few hours, according to the President of the regional government, Pedro Antonio Sánchez.
The four fires, three in the Cieza area and one in the Lorca area, caused by lightening strikes during last evening´s electric storms, have affected 620 hectares: 320 of those in Cieza.
Fortunately, the fire did not reach the Almadenes Canyon, an area of high ecological value, although various protected areas (LIC) and areas of special protection for birds have been affected.
Some 594 specialists worked through the night in Cieza, including forestry workers, fire fighters, members of the Civil Protection from Cieza, Yecla, Jumilla, Totano and Puerta Lumbreras, as well as 223 members of the National Emergency Force, UME.
Also assisting were fire brigades from Andalusia and Castilla La Mancha and the Ministry plus members of the armed forces with 134 vehicles and 14 air craft.
Later this afternoon, Friday, 188 professionals, 61 vehicles and one air craft were still fighting the three blazes in the Cieza area.
The first fire in Cieza was reported around 5pm yesterday evening after lightening struck in the sierra de La Palera.
At 7.39pm a second fire was reported in the area of the Fuente del Rey, in the south of the Almorchón sierra.
At 9.09pm a third fire was reported in the Sierra de la Serreta where three cottages were evacuated as a precaution.
The areas affected are mainly populated with pines and mixed forests on the banks of the River Segura and Benamor. These “sierras” (mountain slopes) are the natural habitat of the royal Eagle, the peregrine falcon and the royal owl. However, fortunately this is not their nesting season.
The Department of the Environment said the area would take more than a decade to recuperate but that clearing the burned wood and the process of reforestation would begin immediately using regional and FEDER funds. This work is likely to take between a year and a year and half to complete.
