SPANISH POLICE are questioning a former forest ranger they believe is responsible for starting three separate fires that have swept through the Valencia region of southwest Spain. Others are burning in the nearby areas of Murcia and Alicante.
Serafin Castellano, head of security of Murcia region, said he believed that at least one of the fires in his region was also a case of arson. It is always considered suspicious when fires break out simultaneously on several fronts.
At least 2,500 hectares of pine forest and scrub have been destroyed in the four fires in the Valencia region near the town of Ontenyente.
One blaze had been brought under control by last night, but had not been extinguished, and a further 1,000 hectares were burning in neighbouring Alicante province and 900 in Murcia. Three local roads were cut off by fires and the railway service between Xativa and Alcoy was suspended.
More than 700 firemen have spent the past two days working round the clock.
Defence minister Carme Chacon, who flew over the fires to see for herself, said: “This is one of the fiercest fires we have seen for many years.”
High temperatures and strong winds have fanned the flames in mountainous terrain that is difficult for firefighters.
Officials say the hot summer and lack of rain have made the countryside tinder-dry; once fires have broken out, they are hard to control. Eight specially equipped planes and seven helicopters have been dumping tonnes of water on the fires in areas that are difficult to access. But they were forced to withdraw overnight when it became too dark to fly.
The Red Cross and local officials have organised shelters for more than 1,200 people who were evacuated as the fires approached. Some returned in the morning to find burned-out shells of their homes and other buildings, with the charred remains of cars and trucks lining the road. One market gardener from Ontenyente was one of the unlucky ones. “We have lost our greenhouses and our crops. Everything has gone,” he said.
But not everyone was willing to leave, preferring to stay behind to try to protect their property. Jose Pastor told journalists: “We were surrounded by flames, but I was lucky, they stopped just a few metres from the house, and we managed to save our sheep and our horses.”
MEP Marga Sainz was critical of the local authorities for their failure to control undergrowth. “They promised they would reforest the area after the fires there in 2006, and they have not done so,” she said.