At the advanced command post in Turre, located just a few kilometers from the severe fire that has been threatening the province of Almería since last Thursday, the atmosphere this Sunday was somewhat different compared to the previous days, something that was confirmed around 11:00 a.m. when the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, announced that the fire had been stabilized.
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“The fire is perimetered and contained. Therefore, we are de-escalating to operational situation 1 and the gradual return of the 1,000 people who remained evacuated is authorized. The device will continue working for its control,” he added.
The president of the Junta de Andalucía also assured that he believes no more victims will appear and “now a crew remains to continuously refresh the area.” “It is the beginning of the end of this terrifying fire,” he emphasized, in addition to highlighting that “there is an open judicial investigation” and that “humidity levels of 90% have also helped a lot.” Minutes later, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, arrived at the site.
Around 2:00 p.m. this Sunday, the search and reconnaissance work on the ground in the burned areas officially ended without locating any more victims. The closure of these searches consolidates the human toll of the disaster at twelve dead, eight officially missing, and eight injured, four of whom remain hospitalized in serious condition at the Virgen del Rocío Hospital in Seville.
In a joint appearance, Moreno Bonilla wanted to “positively assess the coordination between administrations” and stated that “without this coordination and cooperation, which are the most valuable instruments we have in public responsibilities, there surely would have been more victims.” For her part, Margarita Robles lamented that “very hard moments have been experienced” but highlighted that “we have exceptional professionals who give their all.” “I feel very proud of all the collaboration and I also want to especially thank the mayors who have helped save lives,” she concluded.
The mayor of Bédar: “The end is closer”
For his part, one of the most visible faces in recent days in Los Gallardos has been Ángel Collado, mayor of Bédar, one of the most affected municipalities, who warned his neighbors door to door when the fire broke out. “Now we focus on reconstruction and that this nightmare is forgotten as soon as possible,” he told La Vanguardia from Turre. “It seems the end is closer, we want our neighbors to be able to return to their homes and see that most are intact,” he concluded.
After burning about 7,000 hectares, leaving at least 12 dead, 18 injured of varying severity, and seven reports filed for missing persons, the good weather conditions on Saturday already allowed the firefighting forces to directly attack the fire and, as confirmed at night, much of the perimeter affected by the flames could be stabilized.
A hundred evacuees were relocated to hotels in Mojácar
Also yesterday it was announced the closure of the shelters in Garrucha and Lubrín, through which many of the 1,400 people who had to be evacuated passed. Most evacuees were able to stay in homes of close relatives and friends, but about a hundred, according to sources close to La Vanguardia, were relocated to several hotels in Mojácar and nearby municipalities that offered their services.
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It was late at night when the Minister of Health and Emergencies of the Junta de Andalucía, Antonio Sanz Cabello, announced that due to the improvement in fire conditions about 600 evacuees, almost half, could return to their homes in Los Castaños, Almocaízar, and Alfaix, as well as the Los Gallardos campsite. The confinement of Lubrín was also lifted. This morning, Moreno announced that the gradual return of the thousand people who remain evacuated is authorized throughout today.
Despite the improvement in conditions, with the stabilization of the fire “and the work now focused on, first, controlling it and then extinguishing it,” according to Moreno Bonilla, firefighting services and volunteers remain active day and night. Throughout the early hours of this Sunday, UME forces have been extinguishing reactivations, securing the perimeter, and using drones to locate hot spots in El Chive, Lubrín, El Marchal, Bédar, and Los Gallardos.
In parallel, early this Sunday morning the Civil Guard, Andalusian Emergency Group, and Civil Protection volunteers conducted an intense sweep of the affected area to rule out new fatalities, a figure that remains at 12. Additionally, Sanz Cabello highlighted that “despite the severity of the fire, the vast majority of homes have not been damaged.”
Although the situation seems increasingly controlled, there are still two major unknowns regarding the tragic Los Gallardos fire: what happened to the 12 confirmed deceased and those who have not yet been located.
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The victims were trapped “in the lion’s den”
According to sources from Civil Protection to La Vanguardia, the main hypothesis is that the twelve victims, four of them trapped in a car and another seven caught by the fire while trying to flee on their own, “were in the lion’s den and to escape they had no other option but to go towards the fire.”
For their part, Civil Guard sources ask this newspaper to “take with caution” the figure of 23 missing: “The feeling is that the number of missing is decreasing.” They highlight that the 12 deceased have not yet been identified, who they believe are of English, Belgian, and French nationality, so it is likely that some of those missing are among the deceased. “They are trying to contact relatives to compare DNA,” they point out. Something similar was requested on Saturday by the Junta, as Sanz Cabello emphasized that there are “seven real missing persons reports” and that these missing could also be among the dead.
This Sunday was again a key day and this was confirmed by achieving the long-awaited stabilization of the fire.
