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Tuesday, 1st - 7th August 2017
Fire causes devastation ■ SUZANNE O’CONNELL suzanne@costablancapeople.com
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fire destroyed three hectares of land belonging to an abandoned finca or farm in Guardamar on 28th July. It is thought to have started at around 8.30pm in an area of palm trees bordering on the natural lake. Fire engines were called out from Almoradí, Torrevieja and Guardamar in order to try and prevent the fire from spreading to the parkland. Altogether it is believed that 30,000 square metres of grassland, trees and vegetation was destroyed in an area of agricultural land in Guardamar del Segura. The fire stations of Torrevieja and Almoradí were alerted and immediately sent out their engines. A special forest branch of the brigade was deployed from Guardamar to quell the flames. The Guardamar branch is only available during the summer months, specifically for this kind of incident.
After less than an hour and a half the blaze was brought under control according to the information provided by the Consorcio Provincial de Bomberos. The main concern of the fire service was that the fire did not spread to the natural parks and lagunas of Torrevieja and La Mata. The risk was reduced due to the type of vegetation that was alight.
Many palm trees were destroyed in the fire along with an abandoned house and stables. The smoke generated from the fire could be seen from miles away and was visible from the N332. The cause of the fire is not yet known but there have been cases of arson in previous years in these areas. The public are reminded about the
need for care, particularly during the dry summer months. One of our readers, John Hookings, from San Luis, became aware of the fire on Friday evening when he spotted smoke in the sky. He went to the area between the Lemon tree road and the lake and took these pictures. Pictures – Courtesy of John Hookings
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