Fire at Troyano yesterday, caused by gas bottle leakage

Terrace at Troyano/Mesilla de los Ángeles
(Photo: JimenaLinks)

JIMENA A report in today's EuropaSur said there was a fire in the basement at the restaurant known as Troyano (officially, Mesilla de los Ángeles, and the last one on the left as you leave Jimena towards the coast). This was confirmed this morning by various sources, as the newspaper reported the fire being at La Troyana and we didn't want to get it wrong. Fortunately, the fire did not cause any personal damage, although the fire brigade reported that it originated with a leakage from one of the bombonas in the basement. Material damage was not excessive, either. The paper is not clear either, as to which basement the fire broke out - local sources say it was the one below the bakery, where sacks of flour, two commercial fridges and other supplies caused a great deal of smoke.

Majorca fire: at least 800 evacuated, 1,000 hectares burned

MAJORCA Some 800 people had to be evacuated at 5am from the path of a major fire on the island of Majorca that broke out on Friday and is not yet under control. To the 700 residents of Estellencs and surroundings were added about 100 tourists staying at a complex in Calviá. Emergency services were on the point of overwhelm when further teams were brought in from nearby towns. Evacuees, were taken to a sports pavilion at Esporles, where they will have to wait until the fire is under control. These same services report that the fire is concentrated in a very inaccessible spot in the mountains, added to the unpredictable winds raging in the area.

Los Lances fire: 392 evacuations

Flames under control near beach
(Photo: europasur.es)

TARIFA A fire broke out yesterday afternoon near the famous Los Lances beach, which led to the preventative evacuation of 392 people from two campsites, Tarifa and Torre de la Peña, as well as guests at the Hurricane Hotel. It was not a large fire but caused considerable alarm because of its location at some of the area's most populated tourist attractions. Fortunately, the wind blew the heavy smoke away from the campsites. Dry pine leaves behind the Tarifa camping ground ensured heavy, dense smoke, though the cause has yet to be established. The alarm was raised at about 2.30 pm and it was declared under control some five hours later.

90% of land burned in the province belongs to the Campo area

Torreguadiaro, June 2012
(Photo: Neil French)

San Roque heads the 2012 list with 199 hectares destroyed by 17 fires

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR As we look out at cloudy, rainy skies, it may be difficult to remember that the dry summer of 2012 followed a dry 2011/2012 winter. And although the total number of hectares burned down was below that of the last decade, and no lives were lost, the Infoca Plan results can be seen as an achievement needing improvement. Of the total of 70 fires registered in the province of Cádiz, 45 began in the Campo de Gibraltar. At the same time, 90% of the fires were on common land, and of these, 80% belonged to the municipality of San Roque. Those at Torreguadiaro and Miraflores were at Level 1, the highest. Figures show that 53% of the fires were set on purpose, and 24%, the result of negligence. On the positive, environmental side, only 0.13% of the burned land were within the two major Nature Parks, Los Alcornocales and El Estrecho, which take up 170,000 hectares between them.

X-ray machine catches fire, patients and staff evacuated

(File photo)

JIMENA The X-Ray machine at the health centre caught fire this morning, producing a lot of smoke and an unpleasant smell, which was the reason behind the evacuation of the building, including patients and staff. The fire brigade was there for about an hour to make sure the remains of the machine did not flare up, and to check on the electric installation, as this was at first thought to be the cause. Further info coming up as available.

Fire destroys part of barrel-makers' in Jerez

Fire began in the roof as workers were about to leave

JEREZ (Agencies) This item would not be our usual fare except for the interesting fact that the cooperage company, Tevasa, supplies American oak barrels to the whiskey industry in Scotland, aside from being a well known established business in the sherry town. The fire apparently started close to the roof, just as the shift was leaving the premises. It was they who first began to try to extinguish the flames, before the fire brigade arrived. Some 600m2 were devoured by the conflagration, which took hold in the plastic rooftops of the main workshop.

Fires in Spain: animals also suffer, but be careful with the appeals

Illustration only

SPAIN /Marbella The fires that have raged throughout Spain this summer have impacted not only the people who have died in them, the injured and their families, and many homes, but also the animals in their vicinity. Wild or domestic, they will surely have suffered enormously. To bring this awareness closer to home, the fire that swept through the Marbella area over the weekend, caused the death of over 75 domestic pets, according to one source. Where these figures come from, we don't know, as the authorities rarely if ever give out anything related to animals in such cases. In any case, a number of Facebook and other appeals are under way. We are trying to locate the genuine ones and will publish them as soon as we can, but please be aware that scam artists are also looking for your money. (Watch this space, but if you have any information on genuine appeals, please let us know!)

Fire razes 75 hectares in Grazalema yesterday

High temperatures cause smoke inhalation problems

GAZALEMA Flames swept through 75 hectares of the Sierra de Grazalema Nature Park, mostly in the municipalities of Cortes de la Frontera and Jimera de Líbar. Temperatures of 40 degrees C or more made control difficult as well as four injuries among the firefighters from INFOCA. These were for smoke inhalation on a day without even breeze in that area. One of the men had to be rescued from the fron line by his team mates, and later taken to hospital, where was treated with oxygen. The mayors of both places thought the fire was the result of arson.

Council removes rubbish from Prodean neighbourhood

Danger to animal rescue centre was reported by environmentalists

LA LÍNEA A couple of weeks ago environmentalist pressure group Verdemar-Ecologistas en Acción reported to the Junta the state of neglect of a piece of land adjacent to the animal refuge centre run by Protectora de Animales del Campo de Gibraltar (Prodean). Not only had a fire broken out there, causing alarm among the animals and their carers, but thye plot had also become a health hazard thanks to the accumulation of rubbish. The Council has since cleaned the place up, according to Councillor Ángel Villar, in charge of such matter at the Ayuntamiento.

New fire breaks out in San Roque

Damage at Huerta Varela
(Photo: europasur.es)

50 hectares burned yesterday · Possibility of arson investigated · 500 people from 200 homes evacuated by 10pm · 20,000 had power cut off

SAN ROQUE (Agencies) Fire broke out once again in the municipality of San Roque, wreaking havoc in the area between Miraflores and Santa Margarita. Helped by a westerly breeze, very high temperatures and very dry brush, flames spread out to very close to the main San Roque town and inland to include El Albarracín and La Solana. Several fronts were being tackled at the same time, and in the end, some 200 homes, one hotel, the petrol station and the service area at Bernardo Macías had to be evacuated. Electricity supply was cut off to some 20,000 customers, but that was restored in about an hour. The last to have their power back were practically the entire population of Castellar.>>>

Girona fire under control at last

(Photo: EFE)

Burned for four days, four dead, several injured

CATALONIA / Girona (Agencies) A fire that is reported as having started three days ago thanks to some idiot throwing a lit cigarette butt in a parking lot, spread alarmingly because of high winds in the AltaAmpurdá area of the province of Girona. Although there was a break in the wind yesterday morning, it came up again in the afternoon, but overnight work by the fire brigades and areal units finally brought it under control by early this morning. The father and daughter>>>

Sentences for fire setting to be increased

MADRID The Justice Minister, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, announced on Tuesday that the Council of Ministers will approve this month, to come into effect in September, an change in the Criminal Code to increase sentences on those found guilty of setting forest and brush fires, and to require financial responsibility for the damage caused. The announcement was made in Santiago de Compostela, where the minister was meeting the President of the Galician region, Alberto Núñez Feijoo. Galicia is very prone to fire setting in the summer. Maximum prison sentences will thus be increased to six years, one more than at present. Three new aggravating factors will also apply: that the fire is set close to an inhabited area, that it impacts a special environmental protection area, and, "particularly important" in the minister's words, that the fire is set at a time of particular weather or terrain conditions that "relevantly" increase the possibility of the fire propagating extensively.

Carrefour shopping centre damaged by fire

(Photo: europasur.es)

LOS BARRIOS (Agencies) One of the shops in the gallery at the Carrefour shopping centre at Palmones, selling materials, was destroyed by a fire yesterday. The firefighters reported that it had been caused by a spark from the next door shop that was under renovation. The fire started shortly before 9am, when the centre was still closed to the public. By the time the fire brigade from the nearby Guadacorte station, workers had already used the extinguishers and the sprinklers had come into play. About one third of the merchandise in the shop was completely burned and practically all of the rest  was damaged by smoke and water. Some of the shops in the same area were also damaged, though less so.

Impressive photos of Torreguadiaro fire

Reader Neil French sent in these photos taken from his home in Colina del Mar. Many thanks, Neil, and we hope you and yours are safe and sound.

Five fires in the area in less than 24 hours

Man despairs at ruined garden,
Torreguadiaro yesterday
(Photo: europasur.es)

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR (Agencies) Five separate fires broke out in the are in less than 24 hours; three in San Roque and two in Algeciras. All of them were extinguished rapidly, except the major one at Torreguadiaro and one at Las Arenillas, between Sotogrande and Castellar, near the luxury development La Reserva de Sotogrande. The former was under control by 9pm last night, and the second, by  about 7.30. First estimates say that some 100 hectares were burned near Torreguadiaro, while the latter burned about a hectare of pine and cork oak forest. This one has a history of similar fires over the years, which leads to local speculation about it being intentional in order to make way for further development. There was another outbreak, though comparatively minor, at San Martín del Tesorillo>>>

Reader sends in photos of Torreguadiaro fire

Thanks to David Williams for these, and many more.

There are more below

Video of Torreguadiaro fire

UPDATE: Several urbanizations evacuated at Torreguadiaro

Photo: sotograndedigital.com

News just come in that the urbanizations at Vista Laguna, Colinas del Mar, Playa Guadiaro y Punta Europa have been evacuated. The fire apparently began close to the Montilla Restaurant, in turn close to the petrol station, opposite the fruit and veg shop between the two roundabouts on the Western side of Torreguadiaro itself. However, it  spread considerably thanks to the wind and the dryness of the scrub in the hills above Torreguadiaro.

Photos of the fire in Torreguadiaro

These photos came from the Picasa Web Album of El Periódico de Sotogrande. If you have any, please send them in!

The building is that of El Periódico de Sotogrande

Fire near Seghers in Estepona

ESTEPONA Our good Antonio J. Sierra (who used to be the tech behind Alberto's English-speaking radio programme in Jimena years ago) was evacuated from his home in the Seghers section of Estepona because of a fire nearby yesterday. As he said, "This is the first time ever I've been evacuated." Being the good journalist that he is, he wrote about it extensively (in Spanish, natch, and sent it to TioJimeno, from whence here) and took the photo above. Oh, and he ended his report sometime in the evening with, "The bomberos are refreshing the area at this time."