The fires of the last week leave 6,200 hectares burned. There are many; but looking with perspective, how much do they suppose in their territories?
The three fires of the last week in Estremadura have been serious due to their consequences on the territory and the neighborslarge in the case of Casas de Miravete and Las Hurdes -the two far exceed the 500 hectares that define the Great Forest Fires (GIF)- and have kept all Extremadura. The situation is improving in all of them and in the last few hours those at Casas de Miravete and Las Hurdes have been considered controlled, and the one at Garganta de los Infiernos is already stabilized. They are not extinct, but the end is closer.
With these steps, the Ministry of Agriculture has already given more precise official figures of the area affected in each case, more than 6,200 hectares in total. There are many; but looking back, what does it mean?
In the case of the fire Casas de Miravete, the largest of the three, the fire has devastated 3,269 hectares. This represents 2.1% of the Campo Arañuelo region to which it belongs. The flames have also entered 480 hectares of the Monfragüe National Park. The consequences that the fire has left in the affected zone of the protected space remain to be seen, but the data indicates that the burned part supposes 2.6% of the 17,852 hectares of the park’s territory.
The other big fire this summer is the one in Las Hurdes, which has left 2,864 hectares burned. That’s 6.7% of the 46,520 that the region is estimated to have.
The fire at the Garganta de los Infernos is not considered big fire (GIF) because the area affected is less than 500 hectares, but it was also monitored because it affected the area of the nature reserve. In this case, 168 hectares have been affected, of the 6,927 that this protected space has, 2.4%. Extending the focus to the Valle del Jerte region in which it is based, the proportion of the fire, which has remained in a mountain area, is 0.1% of the 41,635 hectares it has.
Another fact, the forest area burned in the fires of the last week represents 0.1% of the territory of the region.
“Traveling through the burned areas means taking risks”
The 112 Extremadura has issued a series of recommendations through the town councils of the towns that were relocated after the fires, to avoid risk situations. Between them, It is requested to circulate with caution on the roads and tracks within the burned area; and it is advised not to walk on surfaces affected by the fire.
“The tree stumps can be hot inside, with embers, and there is a risk of burns because they are incandescent,” says Nieves Villar, general director of Emergencies. In addition, “the roots can also be hot, and the trees themselves can be unstable and at risk of falling over,” she adds. In the next few days they will be reviewed, but there has been no time yet.
Villar recalls that the two major fires (Las Hurdes and Casas de Miravete) are under control but not extinguished: “Going through the burned areas now is assuming a series of risks,” he stresses. In the first place, because embers can still remain in the fields; and also because in both the perimeter is very large, there are “islands inside that are unburned and reactivations can occur.” “In fact, they are produced by the wind. They are turned off but they generate an additional risk,” recalls Villar.