The neighbors affected by the fire in Huesca will be able to return to their homes on Tuesday

Two of the fires that have made headlines in recent days for their severity in Huesca and Huelva are beginning to ease. Around a thousand people will be able to return to their homes thanks to the good progress of the fire in Las Peñas de Riglos (Huesca), now very close to stabilization, a situation recently achieved by the fire in Niebla (Huelva), which on Monday was downgraded to operational situation 0.

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The weekend rains have helped control the Las Peñas de Riglos fire, which has affected a provisional area of 17,500 hectares and has an irregular perimeter of 100 kilometers, something that will allow the relocation of more than a thousand people starting Tuesday. In Huelva, the situation is improving and the last evacuated residents have been able to return to their homes.

The Andalusian Minister of Presidency, Health and Emergencies, Antonio Sanz, has announced that the evolution of the fire declared on August 6 in Niebla has allowed it to be downgraded to pre-emergency phase, operational situation 0, although he reminded that work continues for its total control and extinction. The Andalusian anti-fire Plan Infoca maintains an active device composed of seven groups of forest firefighters, a support group, an extinction technician, three operations technicians, four environmental agents, and six fire trucks. The improvement has allowed the return to their homes of the last 417 people who remained evacuated and the withdrawal of the Military Emergency Unit (UME).

The President of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, places the affected area at 38,000 hectares, while the European satellite program Copernicus estimates the burned area at 33,000 hectares. The fire perimeter, which exceeds 210 kilometers, is contained along its entire length.

The 1,049 residents of the 19 municipalities evacuated due to the Las Peñas de Riglos fire will be able to gradually return to their homes starting Tuesday due to the good progress of the fire, although it is not yet completely stabilized. The head of the Security and Civil Protection service of the Government of Aragón, Jorge Crespo, has explained that basic services such as telephone and electricity have already been restored. Bottled water supply has been arranged with a trailer, while water for other uses will be available. The Civil Protection service is also analyzing the condition of the roads and which of them can be opened to allow passage and complete the relocation. Most of the fire is stabilized and some sectors are on the way to achieving it.

On the other hand, the City Council of La Almunia de Doña Godina has decreed three days of official mourning ―Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday― for the death of Javier García Sancho, a UME member and local resident who died this Sunday in an accident during extinction tasks, while the Government of Aragón has declared one day of mourning as a sign of grief and respect.

A forest fire in Galápagos (Guadalajara) has been declared level 1 due to smoke affecting homes, which forced the confinement of the Parque de Las Castillas and Residencial Montelar urbanizations for a few hours, although they have already been released and the level lowered to 0, according to the Castilla-La Mancha Forest Fire Prevention and Extinction Service (Infocam). Five aerial resources, sixteen ground resources, and 77 personnel, including forest firefighters and environmental agents, are participating in its extinction.

In Castilla-La Mancha, the fires in El Recuenco and La Mierla, which has been burning for more than a month since detection, remain pending extinction but are already controlled, while another in Palomares del Campo (Cuenca) is pending control.

Other controlled fires

In Zamora, the fire intentionally declared on Saturday at the Hermisende border with Portugal has been extinguished on the Portuguese side and remains at level 1 on the Spanish side with all fronts stabilized, the perimeter fenced off, and no flames.

In Galicia, the fire that started on Friday in Lesende (La Coruña) and affected about 30 hectares was controlled this morning, while the one that affected the municipality of Riós (Ourense) is extinguished after burning more than 28 hectares.

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