The Malaga fire from within: “It is hell, there are flames of more than 30 meters”

“We managed to smother a flame and when you turn around you already have another attacking you.” This is how firefighters from the INFOCA Plan explain to EL ESPAÑOL in Malaga their feelings in the fire that rages Sierra Bermeja from the night of this Wednesday. Fire does not give “a second of respite”.

Frustration takes over the hope of the firefighters to extinguish the fire. The flames have already affected more than 5,000 hectares “And what is coming does not look good,” they say from this body.

The complexity of the orography puts in check the work of extinction. “Fire climbs the branches of trees and originates flames 30 meters high. It is a building that is coming over you“In addition, these forestry professionals affirm that” at a distance of 50 meters you’re already burningThey battle “a monster.”

Firefighters line up in groups that take turns to calm the flames. “It’s exhausting,” they insist. Likewise, the risk run by the operations is to suffer a “massive entrapment”. The fire is out of control and they have to “constantly watch your back so that it does not take you ahead”. The hands of an operator are full of wounds and cuts. He has removed his gloves and leaves them in the air.

For their part, the great plumes of smoke also widen and “make it difficult for us to see.” Thus, when this pillar of smoke falls to the ground, “all the incandescent lamps in the column ignite again”, highlighted by INFOCA. “It is very disappointing, it seems that it will never be able to turn off“.

All the operators consulted by this newspaper agree: “It’s the worst fire I’ve ever faced in my life“From the AP-7 highway you can see the aerial teams that help in the extinction tasks. The magnitude of the pyrocumulus stands out between the mountain ranges of Sierra Bermeja.

Meanwhile, other INFOCA colleagues who remain in the rear and waiting their turn, are in contact with the firefighters who are risking their lives in Sierra Bermeja. “We are in high spirits “they insist.

“¡Come on, come on, we can take it all, huh!“. That cry of encouragement is usually heard in the voices of firefighters when they get out of trucks or helicopters when they arrive at a fire. And that was the case until this Thursday night, where”the silence is already overwhelming“A colleague has died.

How do you work under these conditions? We ask. “It is not explained, it is done,” they reply. “We know it was him, but it could have been any of us“They add. All the” joy and enthusiasm “that exists before fighting against the fire is translated into the most absolute secrecy:” only the orders and the burning branches are listened to. “

The origin

The fire that has ravaged Sierra Bermeja since last Wednesday night seems to originates from the human hand. The firefighters confirm it: “whoever caused this catastrophe knew exactly what he was doing.”

The fire consists of several “very well organized” bulbs. In addition, they emphasize, “they had to know the meteorological conditions that were going to occur in the area during these days.” The lift reached speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour.

In this line, the intensity of the fire has forced to evacuate more than a thousand people, which have had to be relocated in different areas of the affected municipalities. Others, however, have chosen to move to a second home while firefighters fight the wildfire in Sierra Bermeja.

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