The fires in Huelva and Castellón this Friday remain active

The four forest fires declared this Friday, one in Huelva and three in Castellón, have evolved unevenly in the last few hours. While the fire in Niebla (Huelva) remains out of control, in Castellón, the fire in Culla has been declared controlled and the situation in Serra d'en Galceran has improved.

Situation in Huelva

After a "very complex"night , the flames are still out of control in Niebla, according to the Vice-President of the Junta de Andalucía and Director of Presidency, Health and Emergencies, Antonio Sanz. The affected area is already 4,000 hectares .

Forecasts for this Saturday are not favourable because wind directionis constantly changing , which,in Sanz's view, "turns the offensive strategy upside down."

During the night, new fronts have been opened and firefighters have been unable to contain the flames, and wind gusts of between 40 and 50 kilometres per hour have contributed to the spread of the fire. Early in the morning, the wind has turned from southwest to south and is expected to change direction again on the afternoon of this Saturday.

The extinction work involves 20 air assets, 94 ground vehicles — 15 of them from the Military Emergency Unit — and 275 troops , including 215 Infoca firefighters and 60 EMU military personnel.

75 people have been forced to leave their homes, although most were on holiday and were able to return to their usual homes.

With regard to the affected area, Sanz points out that eucalyptus, pine and corralhave mainly burned .

Fires in Castellón

In Castellón, 200 ground personnel and 17 air assetsare working on the three forest fires that broke out between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. this Friday, concentrating their efforts on the Tirig fire after the situationin Serra d'en Galceran improved and the Culla fire was declared controlled.

In this context, the Advanced Command Post has moved from Serra d'en Galceran to Tirig, along with air assets and an entire section of the EMU, which has been operating in this area since its inception.

As a result of the fire, 91 people have been evacuated from different farmhouses in the area, and the authorities believe that those affected will gradually be able to return to their homes as the situation improves.

Measurements show that 45 hectares have been burned, and the government delegate to the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé, has indicated that the fires appear to have been caused by lightning associated with the dry storm recorded in the area , although the investigation remains open.

For his part, the technical director of the Command Post, Antonio Rodrigo, explains that spelling is the main difficulty in dealing with fires, although the deployment of means has made it possible to deal with this obstacle.