Firefighting efforts for the wildfire affecting the Sierra Calderona have been intense overnight. The flames, which threaten this significant forest area, compelled the evacuation of nearly a thousand residents from Gátova, in the Camp de Túria region, last Friday. The fire, which remains out of control, is believed to have been caused by a lightning strike during a storm last Thursday in the municipality of Segorbe, within the Alt Palància region. According to the latest official figures, 423 hectares of forest land have already been engulfed.
A team of approximately 300 personnel battled the blaze throughout the early morning hours. The meteorological conditions on Friday night into Saturday morning, characterized by light variable winds (gusting around 10 km/h), humidity above 70%, and a low of 17 degrees Celsius, created an opportunity for firefighting operations, as stated by José Melitón, the head of the extinction effort. In addition to the Military Emergencies Unit (UME), ground units, water-dropping vehicles, and forest brigades from the fire consortia of Valencia and Castellón were deployed.
A meeting of the Emergency Coordination Center (Cecopi) was convened at 09:00 AM this Saturday at the advanced command post established in Gátova, the municipality currently most threatened by the flames. Residents of this town were preemptively evacuated around 5:00 PM on Friday due to the imminent risk.
The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) forecasts easterly and southeasterly wind gusts exceeding 30 km/h in the fire zone this afternoon. Scattered low clouds are expected, but there is no reported chance of rain. The risk of forest fires for today, Saturday, is extreme across the entire Valencian Community.
