The simultaneity of fires in the vicinity of Madrid complicates extinction efforts, with four active fires close to each other and the added difficulty of being very close to each other and in three different autonomous communities.
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Given the situation, the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, announced this Thursday that she would request the declaration of operational situation 3, an emergency of national interest, “due to the seriousness and simultaneity of forest fires” that are already affecting thousands of people who have had to be evacuated.
This operational situation 3, an emergency of national interest, implies requiring the Ministry of Interior to assume centralized control of the emergency, with a single command and allocation of personnel.
However, the government delegate, Francisco Martín Aguirre, replied that “they have to explain and justify that request”.
Madrid
Aldea del Fresno evacuated to Villamanta due to the fire in Villa del Prado
The Madrid 112 Security and Emergency Agency (ASEM112) sent a new ES-Alert message this Thursday requesting the evacuation of the Madrid town of Aldea del Fresno (which has 3500 residents) towards the municipality of Villamanta due to the advance of the fire.
The message requests evacuation to Villamanta, including the AMAM Picadas and San Juan Bautista residences. A health post has been set up in Villamanta, located next to the town’s sports center, where residents of Aldea del Fresno evacuated due to the Villa del Prado fire are being rehoused. They have a doctor, nurse, and basic life support.
In this rehousing area, some of the 80 users of the La Fresneda elderly residence and another 70 from the San Juan Bautista residence, both in Aldea del Fresno, who have been evacuated by ambulances, will be attended to.
The Villa del Prado fire, independent of the Almorox fire, forced ASEM112 this afternoon to activate the ES-Alert system to ask the population near the affected area to remain confined to their homes, with doors and windows closed.
Subsequently, a new warning was sent to the residents of the Caravan Garden urbanization to leave the area and head to the urban center of Aldea del Fresno.
18 units of firefighters from the Community of Madrid, Forest Firefighters, Forest Agents, and the Military Emergency Unit (UME) are working on extinction efforts. In addition, the M-507 in the direction of Navalcarnero and the N-403 towards Toledo remain closed to traffic at the intersection of both roads.
Toledo
Confinement and evacuation of affected urbanizations in Almorox lifted due to fire
The confinement of El Romillo and the evacuation of the El Pinar urbanization have already been lifted this Thursday afternoon.
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The fire, which originated on Wednesday afternoon, has dropped to level 0 and aerial resources have already been withdrawn. 4 ground resources and 15 people are working in the area.
On the other hand, the evolution of the fire has forced the confinement of several streets in the Calalberche urbanization in the Toledo municipality of Santa Cruz de Retamar. Residents of the area have received an Es-Alert.
Ávila
Burgohondo fire forces evacuation of 1,500 people
The fire declared on Wednesday in Burgohondo (Ávila) has forced the evacuation of 1,500 people from a rural tourism center and an urbanization in the municipality of El Tiemblo, due to the “virulent” advance of flames at a speed of 3 kilometers in 40 minutes.
The data has been provided from the area by the territorial delegate of the Junta in Ávila, José Francisco Hernández, along with the president of the regional government, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, and the general director of Civil Protection, Virginia Barcones, who highlighted the “unity” of all administrations, while also emphasizing that the measures adopted aim to save lives.
In addition to the evacuations, including two campsites and a rural tourism center, and the confinement of Burgohondo, Navaluenga, and El Tiemblo, the flames have entered the Iruelas Valley Natural Reserve, one of the most unique areas in the province, home to one of Europe’s main colonies of black vultures.
Asked about it, Hernández confirmed not only that the fire has reached this natural area, but that it “has practically been devastated” due to the speed of the flames of this fire, “so virulent that it has practically exceeded extinction capacity”.
According to the territorial delegate of the Junta, the work of the extensive operation deployed in this area of the province of Ávila, close to the Community of Madrid, has “a lead of ten kilometers” with respect to the head of the fire, considering that “it is moving very fast”.
For his part, the president of the Junta de Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, has called for “unity and prudence” in the face of this “important” forest fire and has urged the population of the affected municipalities to follow the instructions of the authorities at all times.
The president has addressed a message of “caution” to the residents of municipalities such as Navaluenga, Burgohondo, El Tiemblo and their annexes, asking them to follow the instructions of the emergency services to ensure their safety.
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