The fire declared last week in the municipality of La Mierla (Guadalajara) has stopped its advance to Soria, as indicated by the regional president, Emiliano García-Page, who said that they are beginning to “see the light beyond the smoke” and stated that the flames have already devastated 29,000 hectares.
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In statements to the media after a new meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Center to monitor the progress of the fire, the president of Castilla-La Mancha said that the goal is to keep the flames within the perimeter and then start extinguishing it from the inside “without worrying about further expansion.”
We are beginning to see the light beyond the smoke”
Emiliano García-Page
President of Castilla-La Mancha
“Regarding the fire, as a general summary, we are beginning to see the light beyond the smoke and without counting our chickens before they hatch, we are starting to see how more operations are culminating successfully than the many we are carrying out,” emphasized García-Page.
Thus, he pointed out that the operational command has the feeling that the major objectives have been met in order of priority. “We are now at a stage that allows us to start containing the different fronts within the limits of the fire itself,” he added.
García-Page announced that during Tuesday they will begin to consider the possible return or entry of residents to the municipalities “where we already understand the situation is calm.” For now, the fire has forced the evacuation of 34 towns and 14 are confined.
On the other hand, in the shelter set up at the Humanes sports center there are currently 76 people and around 200 have been attended to throughout the emergency.
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Also, 99 corridors have been opened for livestock supply, although several roads remain closed, either totally or partially.
García-Page assured that this fire is “the most complex of those operated in recent years in Spain.” “It has required the largest deployment in the region’s history of the UME and the largest overall deployment of aerial commands,” he said.
Regarding the number of hectares burned, he indicated that 29,000 would have been reached, although he advanced that “probably,” with updated satellite images, the affected area could be less.
He concluded that one can be “optimistic” about the possibility of success in extinguishing the fire, with “great caution,” because “at any moment an accident could occur that endangers the lives of the operators, or there could be another adverse weather event.”
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