The Villanueva de Viver fire is facing "critical and decisive hours" after reactivating in the Maigmona ravine

Troops work to stop the advance to Montán and Montanejos and talk of "new decisions to protect the population" begins

CASTELLÓN, 26 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The change in weather from 8:00 a.m. this Sunday with gusts of wind of up to 50 km/h has activated the Villanueva de Viver (Castellón) fire in the area of ​​the Maigmona ravine, where the troops focus their "maximum concern " to try to prevent the fire from advancing towards the towns of Montán and Montanejos on the CV-195 and CV-20, and that it does not reach the Sierra de Espadán natural park either.

This was stated by the Minister of Justice, Interior and Public Administration, Gabriela Bravos, in statements to the media this Sunday after the coordination meeting at the Advanced Command Post (PMA), located in the Castellón town of Barracas. At the moment, the fire maintains its perimeter of 40 kilometers and around 3,800 hectares burned.

Bravo has affirmed that, despite the fact that tonight the weather has been "quite favorable" for the tasks of extinguishing the fire, between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. this Sunday there will be "critical" and "decisive" hours, with gusts wind speeds of up to 50 km/h, a humidity level below 20% and high temperatures. "These are the three factors that are determining the virulence of the sixth generation fires that unfortunately have been anticipated at the time of year that they usually occur," he added.

"Depending on the evolution of the fire in the next few hours, we will act and determine the adoption of new decisions to protect the population," he stressed, while stressing that, although there is another "problematic" front on the right flank of the fire, the "concern" is to "continue working" in the Maigmona ravine to "try to stop" the advance of the fire and "prevent the flames from acquiring much more propagation force with the formation of pyrocumulus clouds".

At this time, most of the 500 ground troops and 18 aerial means that participate in extinguishing the flames are concentrated in this area, where the work is "complex" due to a "great difficulty" orography that conditions access by land resources, and a "very significant" fuel load from forest land.

For these reasons, work is done from the air, while land resources have established lines of defense so that the fire does not affect the towns of Montán and Montanejos and the Sierra de Espadán natural park, since it is "impossible" for these resources enter the ravine.

"This is the scenario (this afternoon): critical hours, maximum prudence and concentration of all resources in the Maigmona ravine", Bravo reiterated, who has asserted that the Ministry will speak with the Government "if necessary". to ask for more air resources.

Given the possibility that the 1,500 evacuees could return to their homes, the minister regretted "with all the pain" that "right now there is no plan to organize the return of the residents who are evicted." "It would create a serious risk for the population," she pointed out, and asserted that the eviction decision "has been adopted to protect them."

"The most important thing is to protect both the lives of the people who live in the towns, as well as the lives of the professionals", he added, while insisting that "we are not thinking at this moment about the return of the evicted population".

Asked directly if she has considered evacuating other towns, and specifically the municipality of Cirat, she stressed that the troops "are taking an interest" in the situation of the residents. "For example, if there are sick people, to already have everything planned, because the best way to deal with the emergency is the organization in a preventive way", she has defended.

In this line, he has assured that "at this time" the scenario of more evictions is not foreseen, but he has warned that "in a few hours the development of the fire may change." "Therefore, it is necessary to have all the scenarios foreseen in order to make decisions in a timely manner and be effective, especially in what interests us most, which is the defense of the population," she stated.

On the other hand, Bravo has called for "a lot of prudence and a lot of responsibility" from the population, and has demanded, "especially from tourists", that they "do not do fire tourism and do not approach the perimeter area". In this sense, he regretted that this Saturday the Civil Guard detected up to 14 cyclists in areas cut off due to their proximity to the fire.

"It is a great imprudence and we ask, please, responsibility of all citizens. Do not approach rural roads thinking that you can almost avoid the control of the Civil Guard agents because you are putting your own lives and also the lives of others at risk. the professionals who would have to act in order to assist them," he said.

Questioned by the statements of some mayors of the area who have criticized the forestry policy of the Generalitat, the minister has responded that her powers are focused on firefighting and "coordinating and supporting all the resources of the Generalitat to deal with the flames".

Likewise, it has been shown to be "sure" that "the Ministry responsible for prevention is already acting and planning the recovery plan."

"My main concern is to face the fire and stop it as soon as possible. For everyone: for the forests, for all the people who are suffering right now, who are far from home, who are displaced, and for the professionals who are giving their best to stop the fire", he concluded.