The Sierra Bermeja fire it resists dying and is not yet fully extinct. Its official situation is that of ‘controlled’, because although it can no longer advance its perimeter, it still contains numerous hot spots that can only be detected if they emanate smoke, or with thermal cameras that detect heat.
INFOCA maintains on the ground forest firefighters and Environmental agents, who walk the perimeter, watching for any smoldering embers that may appear. For this, thermal cameras are used to detect the heat sources.
Buried pine stumps, cork or holm oak logs, some root and dead matter among the rocks, have remained burning slowly until today. Some of the troops working in the field affirm that their reproduction «is It is hard but not impossible«, And that the fire will not be officially extinguished until a few days have passed without any hot spot alert, a circumstance that is not happening at the moment.
Active surveillance with walking routes, thermal cameras, walking tours around the perimeter, and selective search of places likely to host embers underground These are the tasks carried out by INFOCA staff these days, also attentive to the smells of smoke. Experience and intuition play an important role.
The Sierra Bermeja fire, considered the most serious and dangerous of those registered in Andalusia this year, declared on September 8, swept 9,760 hectares in seven municipalities of the Costa del Sol and Valle del Genal, caused the eviction of almost 3,000 residents, and the death of a forest firefighter working on extinction tasks.