Kirsty Mckenzie
THE forest fire that broke out in the mountains overlooking Estepona could take several more days to extinguish.
Firefighters from across Andalucia raced to Sierra Bermeja on Wednesday, September 8 and the Spanish government had to deploy a military unit to help fire crews in the mountainous region.
At its most dramatic point, there were over 50 aircraft and more than 1,000 people on the ground tackling the flames.
The blaze raged out-of-control for six days and destroyed almost 10,000 hectares of land.
Fire chiefs declared that the situation was under control at around 7am on Tuesday, September 14.
There are still 25 forest firefighters and three pumping engines working at the scene.
Elias Bendodo from the Junta de Andalucia told the community that the team still had a lot of work to do.
He said he hoped ‘it will be a matter of days’ before the blaze is fully extinguished but this depends on ‘many circumstances’ including weather conditions and the steepness of the terrain.
“It is a steep area, and it has been a very complicated sixth-generation fire, and the extinction is more complex.
“We hope that as soon as possible it can be considered fully out”.
It comes as the Junta confirmed it has received 50 tonnes of feed for livestock to help farms cope with the aftermath of the Sierra Bermeja wildfire.
According to Fernando Fernandez Tapia-Ruano, the territorial delegate for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Sustainable Development for the Junta in Malaga, aid has been made available to help producers who have suffered losses from the Sierra Bermeja fire.
READ MORE:
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