Troops work all night on the Villanueva de Viver fire to stabilize the perimeter this Friday

Nearly 430 ground troops remain in the area and 18 airmen will be incorporated first thing in the morning.

CASTELLÓ, 23 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The 'president' of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig, has indicated that the troops deployed in the Villanueva de Viver (Castellón) forest fire will work "hard" throughout the night to try to "walk towards stabilization" of the fire during the day this Friday if the weather conditions, which are "better" than a few hours ago, allow it. "If everything goes well", he has pointed out himself.

This was explained in statements to the media after attending a coordination meeting late this Thursday at the Forest Fire Advanced Command Post (PMA), where he stressed that the fire was "very voracious" at its start. and it has had a "very powerful" action that has caused the perimeter to be between 800 and 1,000 hectares in a "short time".

At this point, he has assessed the "important" reaction of the emergency services of both the Valencian Community and Aragon, which add up to a total of 415 troops in the case of the Valencian autonomy, to which are added those of the Military Unit of Emergencies (UME).

Regarding the evictions of several municipalities and districts, Puig has stressed that they have been carried out "for prevention" and has framed this situation in "prudence" at times of these characteristics. In addition, he has pointed out that they have been carried out during daylight hours to prevent them from lasting at night, when episodes of "greater tension" could have occurred.

Regarding the evolution of the fire, the head of the Consell has advanced that throughout the night the troops will work "hard" to take advantage of the fact that the weather conditions are "better". "There will be the best possible performance so that tomorrow at 08:00 am some 18 aerial means enter and we will be able to move towards stabilization during the day, if all goes well," he argued.

"We hope, during the morning, if things go properly, to return to normality and stabilize the perimeter, which would mean that the evicted people could return to their homes," he remarked.

In this sense, he has affirmed that the aspect that "most worries" at this time is the area of ​​the municipality of Montanejos, since "there is no possibility of placing firebreaks or preventing the access of the fire", for which he has justified the decision to evict populations at risk.

The 'president' of the Generalitat has taken the opportunity to show his gratitude on this point to the Government of Aragon and has highlighted the "cooperation" between the two regional executives. Along these lines, he has indicated that a meeting of a single Cecopi will be held tonight, to work with "maximum cohesion, as from the beginning."

Puig has also stated that the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has telephoned him to inquire about the situation and show his "support" for the UME and the rest of the forces working to put out the fire.

Lastly, it has reported that in the last few minutes power has been restored in the municipality of Montanejos, which had been interrupted throughout the afternoon.

Asked if the drought could have contributed to the spread of the fire, he reflected: "We are all aware that in recent months and years there has been a lot of combustible material, and this forest has special characteristics and is very difficult to access, because it is a a dehumanized area, which does not have livestock jobs, and when there is a fire this makes it very virulent".

In any case, he has stressed that the "most important thing" at this time is "the protection of the population and of the troops themselves" who are fighting the flames. "This is what has been done, prioritizing the safety of firefighters and evicting towns and villages; it is about guaranteeing people's safety," he continued.

"It is true that the effects of climate change are undeniable, so the perspective of fighting fires must be considered on an annual basis," he acknowledged, while defending that the Valencian Community in this regard has "many operations underway " that "before they were not put on until the campaign --of forest fires--". "Response capacity is very important," he stressed.

For its part, the Castellón Provincial Council Fire Brigade continues to work on the forest fire and its troops direct the extinction tasks from the PMA established in the rural emergency park of the Consortium in Barracas.

The extinguishing device is made up of 430 troops from different emergency agencies and twelve air means, seven of them from the Generalitat, three from the Government of Aragon and two from the Ministry, the provincial institution has detailed in a statement.

The fire department has mobilized a "broad" deployment of resources, with seven fire crews, two Forest Fire Response Units (URAF), two 35,000 and 12,000 liter capacity trucks, the Machinery and Logistics Unit, the Mobile Coordination Unit from where the direction of the WFP is held, Civil Protection of the Diputación de Castellón with its logistical support unit, four forestry coordinators and a forestry technician.

Together with the Consortium's own resources, twelve units of forest firefighters from the Generalitat, AVSRE personnel, media from the Valencia Fire Consortium, the Castelló City Council Fire Department, the Government of Aragon, UME, Civil Guard, Autonomous Police, Red Cross, Ministry of the Environment with the technical unit, environmental agent and Ministry of Health.

Late on Thursday, the fire was advancing through an area of ​​scrubland and pine forest and the "main difficulty" is the "complicated orography" and the "high water stress" of the vegetation due to "the lack of rain" and the "Repeated episodes of wind during the last weeks".

The fire has forced the eviction of the municipalities of Fuente la Reina, Los Calpes, Los Cantos, La Monzona, Puebla de Arenoso and Montanejos. With the sunset, the air resources have been withdrawn, which will rejoin at dawn, and the ground troops remain in the area.