Castellón province fire remains out of control after scorching 10,000 hectares

Regional minister for emergencies Juan Carlos Valderrama announced the complete closure of access routes to the evacuated towns, after allowing residents, under supervision, to enter for a limited period and collect medicines and other essential items.

The fire is still active and crews are continuing their work in the area.

On Tuesday, the regional government lifted the lockdown in Vilavella, Betxí and Onda, with some exceptions. In Vilavella, residents cannot drink tap water or use it for cooking for 72 hours.

In the case of Onda, the Nueva Onda residential development will remain under lockdown and the hamlet of Artesa will remain evacuated. In Betxí, the residential areas of Solaig, Montserrat and Peña Negra cordoned off. Around 10,000 people remain evacuated.

The command post director of operations, Fernando Pérez, acknowledged that the temperature inversion had caused the smoke to remain stationary for much of the day, preventing aerial resources from carrying out their work.

At 5pm on Tuesday, the smoke layer cleared and they were able to carry out continuous water drops. Concerns about flare-ups remain on Wednesday. Pérez said that there are still "many hours of work ahead (...) to bring the fire under control".

Images of flames near the Santa Bárbara chapel in Onda caused some alarm on Tuesday. However, Pérez clarified that the fire had not reached the chapel itself, but had rather broken out in an area of farms and a few homes near the sanctuary.

He also explained that the fire had spread slightly, fuelled by the "amount of waste" that had accumulated.

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