Mijas wildfire declared 'controlled' after burning 250 hectares of land and totally destroying one property

At 1pm today, after burning some 250 hectares of land, the major wildfire declared on Sunday in Mijas was considered to be «under control» by the Junta's specialist forest fire brigade, Plan Infoca.

As the hours have progressed, the resources deployed in the Paraje de Valtocado area, which forced the precautionary evacuation of a total of 300 residents, have been reduced, so that at this time and according to the latest data provided by Infoca, four groups of forest firefighters and two environmental agents remain on the ground, as well as one fire engine.

Similarly, the Municipal Emergency Plan was deactivated by the Town Hall at 8am this Monday morning, which has also set up an information point in the Citizen's Advice Bureau so that all those affected by the fire can report the damage suffered to their property and with the idea of «being able to advise them on how to present the relevant claims», the mayor, Ana Mata, explained to SUR.

The critical hours have passed and now it is time to take stock of the damage and try to forget the panic felt among the locals in the early hours of Sunday morning, as the residents of several houses in Camino de Valtocado, where the fire originated, had to esape their properties in the middle of the night and flee through the countryside, in the face of the advancing flames. «The situation could have been much worse,» admitted the mayor of Mijas, who said that during the early hours of Sunday morning the extinguishing teams were fighting several pockets of fire and facing a wind speed of 80 kilometres per hour, «which made the flames advance very quickly».

«Part of the reason that there were no loss of life was due to the great coordination between the police, Guardia Civil and the fire brigade, who reacted quickly from minute one. The great concern that existed was that no one had fallen asleep or been affected by smoke inhalation inside their homes,» said Mata, who today has been touring part of the burnt area.

With regard to the material damage, the mayor explained that one house was completely destroyed and its owner is the only person evacuated who has not been able to return, while the rest of those have already been able to return to their homes, some of which were partially burnt. Some of these residents today criticised the lack of electricity and water supply, which makes it difficult to stay in their homes.

Regarding the causes of the fire, the residents of Valtocado point directly to an electrical transformer in the area as the place where the fire started. The mayor, for her part, called for «caution», while waiting for the investigations to progress.