Status: 14.09.2021 1:29 p.m.
Heavy rains in Andalusia helped bring a violent forest fire under control. The flames had devastated around 8,000 hectares of forest in the past few days. The authorities assume arson.
After just under a week, the fire brigade in southern Spain managed to bring a large forest fire under control.
The “best ally” of the firefighters was hours of rain, wrote the regional president of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, on Twitter. However, there is still a “complex phase” of extinguishing work to be done before the fire has been completely extinguished.
Around 500 firefighters in action
The fire in the Sierra Bermeja mountains in the province of Málaga broke out on Wednesday and destroyed around 8,000 hectares of forest. The authorities assume arson because the fire started in several places at the same time. Around 2,600 people were brought to safety as a precaution.
A 44-year-old firefighter was killed in the fire fighting on Thursday. A total of around 500 firefighters and 51 fire fighting planes were in action. They were supported by around 260 soldiers from a military emergency unit.