The burned area of the forest fire in the Serra Calderona has quintupled in just 24 hours, increasing from 130 to 633 hectares. The fire, which started Thursday night allegedly due to a lightning strike, has necessitated the continued evacuation of the municipality of Gátova.
The Minister of Emergencies, Juan Carlos Valderrama, reported that the new extent, with a perimeter of 15 kilometers, was measured by drones on Friday night. Valderrama expressed gratitude for the collaboration of all administrations and the dedication of the professionals in defending the natural landscape.
25 aerial resources, 14 of them from the Valencian Community, and a ground team of approximately 350 personnel are working on the extinction efforts. This includes staff from the Military Emergencies Unit, forest firefighters from the Generalitat Valenciana, provincial consortia from Castellón and Valencia, as well as environmental agents and police.
The evacuation of Gátova, which occurred on Friday afternoon, remains in place as a precaution. Currently, 37 people and 10 pets are housed at the sports center in Bétera, while 9 dependent individuals and their companions have been transferred to the residence in Carlet.
The minister indicated a preference to wait for a more favorable situation for residents to return and announced a new coordination meeting for 6:00 PM. He refrained from commenting on optimism or pessimism regarding the fire's evolution, emphasizing the critical role of the central hours of the day due to changing weather conditions.
Raúl Gil, director of the Advanced Command Post of the Provincial Consortium of Firefighters of Castellón, highlighted the complexity of the vegetation in the area and the terrain's vulnerability, particularly during the central hours of the day. He confirmed that nighttime work was calm with high humidity, but the fire remains active, and consolidation of extinction efforts is necessary.
Gil stressed that the fire is not under control, with black and green zones still hot. Global concern is high, especially to prevent the fire from crossing the road from Gátova to Altura (CV-25), a crucial containment line towards a more significant forest mass.
