The Jarilla fire (Cáceres) continues to spread after five days, having already destroyed 11,000 hectares and 130 kilometers of perimeter, with an"unfavorable" forecast. The Regional Government of Extremadura's main concern is the northern flank of the fire, which"continues to rage," according to regional government sources, and has led to new lockdowns and evacuations this Sunday. This morning, the municipality of Gargantilla (population 360) was evacuated, as well as some 80 homes in the peri-urban area of Hervás—one of the largest towns in the Jerte Valley, with 4,000 inhabitants. Hervás has also been placed under lockdown, although the wind is"favorable" and the fire is not expected to reach the urban center, according to the deployed personnel. The fire threatens the jewel of the area's flora, the chestnut grove. There is also concern at this time that it could spread to Castile and León, as the flames are located just a few kilometers from Salamanca. The firefighters on the scene say it is very likely to cross the Extremadura border in the coming hours.
Meanwhile, the regional president, María Guardiola, is engaged in an open war with the Spanish government over what she considers to be an"insufficient" deployment of resources to Extremadura, in an"unusual" week for the region due to the simultaneous outbreaks. From the forward command post, just after 4:00 p.m., the Minister of the Presidency, Abel Bautista, listed the resources requested from the central government and those granted, emphasizing that, he maintains, they are far fewer than required.
Extremadura woke up this Sunday with eight active fires, following an intense night in which the resources deployed had to be fully employed on the most serious fire, the Jarilla fire, started on Tuesday by a lightning strike. This Friday, dozens of evacuees returned to their homes in the municipalities of Cabezabellosa, Villar de Plasencia, and Jarilla, as the situation in these municipalities, located next to the Jerte Valley, was deemed stabilized. However, the weather conditions recorded on Saturday afternoon caused the formation of a pyrocumulus cloud—a cumuliform cloud formed by the intense heat of forest fires—worsening the situation in other areas."The northern part has a life of its own and does not allow for a strategy to be drawn up," stated the Minister of the Presidency, Abel Bautista, early this Sunday.
On the northern flank, the Civil Guard had to evacuate the municipality of Gargantilla and lock down Hervás after 11:00 a.m. as the fire spread through Puerto de Honduras, in the Ambroz Valley. Authorities have asked residents to remain indoors with windows and doors closed to avoid the danger of smoke inhalation. These instructions have been relayed via mobile phone alerts and patrols from the Armed Forces. With the flames just a few meters away, residents of Hervás expressed concern for their homes this Sunday, but, above all, they expressed their fear of the possible burning of Galician chestnut trees, which have one of the largest stands in Spain at Puerto de Honduras.
In the south, firefighting resources worked hard overnight to prevent the flames from reaching the city of Plasencia (population 40,000), from where columns of smoke could be seen in the morning. According to data from the Regional Government of Extremadura, 10 forest firefighting units, two machinery teams, six environmental protection officers, six firefighting technicians, two Forest Fire Reinforcement Brigade (BRIF) personnel, two sections of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), and 17 aircraft are working on the Jarilla fire. A helicopter from Slovakia and support resources from Germany have also arrived for the entire community.
Lightning strikes, high temperatures, high wind speeds, and arsonists have combined in an"extraordinary" way, unleashing an unprecedented number of simultaneous fires this summer in Extremadura, sources from the regional government explain. The dispatched firefighters agree on the difficulty of tackling the situation with so many outbreaks burning at the same time."This summer is crazy because of the number of fires. There aren't enough resources, but because they're so spread out," said a Cáceres Provincial Council officer while working in Hervás this Sunday.
Political war
While firefighting resources battle the eight blazes ravaging Extremadura, Guardiola's regional government and the administration are fighting their own battle. The controversy between Guardiola, the PP's party leader, and President Sánchez continues to escalate following the remarks of the government delegate during the meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (Cecopi) this Sunday morning. The regional president stated that they have asked the government for more resources, as well as the intervention of the Army, but that the regional government delegate, José Luis Quintana, told them that he"does not have the capacity to send more resources to a fire with a perimeter of more than 100 kilometers," criticizing his remarks.
The central government, on the other hand, flatly rejects the lack of such capacity."Although firefighting is the responsibility of the autonomous communities, the Spanish government, from the very beginning, has been and is on the side of the Regional Government of Extremadura to extinguish fires," Quintana insisted in statements reported by Europa Press.
