Extremadura fire ravages 3,700 hectares and keeps 300 people in lockdown

The fire in the Las Hurdes area of Extremadura has now burned 3,700 hectares, following a "very difficult" afternoon, according to regional minister of emergencies Abel Bautista.

However, a favourable change in weather conditions from around 8.30pm has slowed the spread of the flames and created a sense of "cautious optimism" for Thursday.

Bautista has confirmed that the fire remains at emergency level 2, which means that Extremadura still needs resources from other regions and the state.

Despite the intensity during the afternoon due to the formation of two pyrocumulus clouds in Horcajo and the head of the fire in the Cerezal and Nuñomoral area, the situation took a favourable turn at nightfall.

The fire has prompted different measures depending on the area and the flame' spread. In Asegur, the 79 evacuated residents were able to return to their homes overnight with 100 per cent certainty of safety, according to the Extremadura regional government. Only nine vulnerable individuals remained evacuated as a precaution.

The Aceitunilla farm was evacuated because it was a dead-end area, Bautista noted, with only one evacuation route and a direct projection of the fire.

Furthermore, the lockdown of the population of Nuñomoral, 300 inhabitants, was maintained due to the large accumulation of smoke, although the fire is advancing slowly and without direct danger to the residents.

With the return of the residents of Asegur, there are now eleven farms that remain evacuated in total.

Bautista has reassured the residents of Cerezal, refuting the rumours circulating. "It is completely false that houses have burned down in Cerezal or that the fire is going to reach the town centre," he said.

The fire front is currently halfway up the hillside, with resources positioned to protect the municipality.

Regarding infrastructure damage, the official report confirms that so far the fire has damaged only three inhabited buildings in Avellanar and three uninhabited buildings.

More than 170 people worked on the ground overnight: 104 members of the Infoex plan, approximately 70 military personnel from the UME, two forest fire brigades under the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge and eight firefighters from Cáceres provincial authority's brigade.

A shift in wind direction from the north at around 10pm pushed the fire towards the reservoir below Nuñomoral, leaving that flank on the path to stabilisation.

The weather forecast for the early morning predicted temperatures of 13C, no wind and 100 per cent humidity, providing a "very good window of opportunity" for aerial firefighting resources to operate from the early hours of the morning.

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