Crews tame forest blaze

incendi forestalIn an announcement from the president's office, the Formentera Council reported that a wildfire that broke out at 11.45am this morning and ultimately swept through some 0.71 hectares of pine forest between Venda del Molí and s'Estany Pudent had already been given “controlled” status by 1.30pm today. The news was relayed by the chief firefighter on the scene, an employee of the Govern Balear's environment department. In the words of CiF president's office councillor Bartomeu Escandell, firefighting crews are presently “busy keeping the ground in the affected area waterlogged” and are expected to downgrade the blaze to “extinguished” by this afternoon.

The CiF fire brigade's arsenal, which includes four firemen, two lorries and a pick-up, complimented the work done by Ibanat, the Balearic Islands' institute of nature. Explaining the relatively quick work crews made of the flames, Escandell pointed to the assistance provided by emergency crews as well as an ample supply of other resources. Along with the two squads that traveled to the island, a staff specialist, a head firefighter, two AMA agents and two rapid-response specialists, three planes and two helicopters were also dispatched to control the flames. Escandell was quick to praise the work of six civil protection volunteers, water lorry operators and the efforts of local police and Guardia Civil. The causes of the fire are still a mystery, and Escandell asked the people of the island to remain vigilant, calling current fire risk “very elevated”.