The Minister of the Presidency, Public Administration and Interior, Elías Bendodo, highlighted the “perfect coordination ”between the Government of Spain and the Junta de Andalucía in the extinction of the forest fire declared last Wednesday in Sierra Berneja, which continues to be active, both administrations agreeing on the intervention of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) if necessary.
This was highlighted this Friday by the regional manager in a visit you have made to the command post deployed at the Estepona Conference Center, where he has been accompanied by delegate of the Government of Spain in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández, to know first-hand the state of the fire.
Bendodo has started his intervention giving “condolences, regrets and regrets”, both personally and on behalf of the Government of Andalusia, by loss of an Infoca firefighter on duty yesterday”. Regarding the body, he has indicated that “right now he is at the Malaga Institute of Legal Medicine awaiting an autopsy.”
The counselor has highlighted “a perfect coordination between the Government of Spain and the Junta de Andalucía with conversations including the President of the Government ”and the Andalusian administration yesterday, where“ they agreed to make all the necessary human and material resources available to this fire, including air means and the UME if necessary and requested by the operational command of the fire ”.
Thus, he has declared that the “perfect coordination” has made that at this time “we have more than 400 people among the Infoca firefighters, the National Police, the Civil Guard and the Firefighters of the Provincial Council ”, as well as“ 30 air means that thanks to the request made by the Minister of raising the fire to level 2, allows the operational command to request more reinforcements, both air and personnel ”.
Bendodo has pointed out that “the fire is alive right now, a complex day today still due to the weather conditions ”, ensuring that the Sierra Bermeja fire is“ one of the most complicated that has been experienced in Andalusia in recent years due to the orographic circumstances, by temperature, by the percentage of humidity and by the wind that there was yesterday ”, that this Friday is“ less ”. All of this “has made the circumstances much more complicated,” he pointed out.
At the moment, he has detailed that “3,600 hectares have been affected”, as they have transferred from the Infoca, the GREA, the 112, the National Police, the Civil Guard and the Firemen of the Provincial Council.
Bendodo has made reference to the difficulty of the fire, of which he has highlighted that “it is of complicated generation”, and has reported that “we have 3 meteorologists acting to control” that it does not occur “pyrocumulus phenomenon, which is when a fire is complicated by a lot of heat build-up and smoke in the same area, which can complicate the effect and make it more dangerous ”.
On the other hand, it has indicated that “Little by little they are returning to their homes” many of the more than 1,000 evicted, “the majority in Estepona”. Asked about the return of those affected, he declared that “some homes that in some way have not been affected progressively duty to go back, but that has to be done with great prudence because the fire right now is still alive and can get worse “and” if the command of the operation authorizes it. “
Regarding the use of the pavilion enabled by the Estepona City Council and making it available to the Assembly Hall of the Benahavís Town Hall for relocation, it has indicated that “most of the people they have relocated in the homes of relatives or friends ”, estimating that they have spent the night in the first space “eight people”.
For his part, the delegate of the Government of Spain in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández, has shown on behalf of the Government of Spain “Our condolences to the family of the forest firefighter unfortunately passed away yesterday, like the rest of his colleagues for the important work and the pain caused by the loss in the exercise of their work ”.
It has also congratulated the operative that is acting in the area, and has transferred the mayors of the four affected municipalities (Estepona, Jubrique, Benahavís and Genalguacil), “our full support in a difficult and complex situation as mayor and in populations that are living with anguish these difficult times due to these evictions ”.
Fernández highlighted the “coordinated and joint work ”between the Government of Spain and Andalusia, so that “the decisions made are quick” and he recalled the conversation held last night between the presidents of both administrations, so it has highlighted “the absolute predisposition of the Government of Spain to collaborate with whatever means are necessary.”
Likewise, he recalled that aerial means of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) collaborate since yesterday to support extinction tasks and have been deployed so far six large capacity Canadair amphibians (6,000 liters), an ACT ground cargo plane with a capacity of 3,000 liters and three Kamov heavy helicopters with a capacity of 4,500 liters.
Fernández also stressed that “fortunately at this time no other fire has been activated in Spain ”, therefore, “all the media in the different regions would be able to travel to this mountain range” and that both the brigades against forest fires, like any other means, “would be made available immediately.”