Wildfire forces evacuation of Montemayor Alto and Benahavís residents told to stay at home

The fire is in the area around the Rosario chapel, close to residential properties and just over a kilometre from the town centre. An ES-Alert message has been sent out to mobile phones in the area and a precautionary lockdown has been declared for the town centre, as well as the outlying areas to the north and west and the La Coja residential estate.

Later the Montemayor Alto residential area was evacuated. One person has suffered burns trying to put out the fire and a firefighter has been injured in a fall, according to the emergency services.

Regional minister Antonio Sanz, in his capacity as director of the Andalusian Forest Fire Emergency Plan (Plan Infoca), raised the fire to emergency phase 1 at around 2pm on Sunday due to the way the fire was developing. Emergency phase 1 refers to fires which, while potentially controllable using the standard means and resources available to the regional government of Andalucía, are escalated due to their scale and the resources required to extinguish them, or because measures need to be taken to protect the population.

In addition, traffic on the A-7175 is being restricted due to the fire, as the right-hand lane in the direction of Benahavís has had to be closed to allow emergency vehicles access.

According to the analysis by Infoca, the fire is spreading very rapidly, fuelled by the easterly wind and the slope. The response team is working simultaneously to control the fire front on the right flank, while monitoring developments on the left flank in case it advances towards Monte Mayor. Work is also continuing at the rear of the fire to prevent it from reigniting. Wind speeds are reaching 30 kilometres per hour, with gusts of up to 50, and no changes in direction or intensity are expected.

Around twenty aerial resources are now involved in the fire-fighting operation: one coordination aircraft, two heavy Foca amphibious aircraft, two light helicopters, five medium-weight helicopters, two heavy helicopters, one command helicopter, six ground-based cargo aircraft and two light amphibious aircraft. On the ground, seven forest firefighting teams, four Brica units, a Forest Fire Command Team (Emif), six operations technicians, two fire-fighting technicians and two environmental officers are at work. The operation is complemented by a mobile meteorology and communications unit (UMMT), a forest fire medical unit (UMIF), the MOT-SE (Seville technical command module), the USISEM (emergency systems unit, or drone unit) and three fire engines. According to the Infoca update at around 5pm on Sunday, there were around 105 forest firefighters on the ground.

Firefighters from other towns, including Estepona and Marbella, are also taking part in the firefighting efforts, and the local police have been mobilised, according to sources at the 112 emergency service. The cause of the fire, which is visible from other towns on the Costa del Sol, is currently unknown.

The Infoca Plan has advised residents to close their doors and windows, to avoid going out as far as possible and, if they have to, to wear face masks.