Forest fire in the Genal Valley forces the confinement and eviction of neighbors

The residents of Igualeja and Parauta, located in the Genal Valley in Malaga, are confined to their homes due to the forest fire declared this Saturday night in the vicinity of the Mirador de Igualeja area, whose extinction is made difficult by the wind in the area. 50 people have been evicted and an operation of 200 troops and 21 air resources has been mobilized on the ground.

This afternoon, the Andalusian Emergency Agency (EMA) sent an Es-Alert message to the population of Parauta, of around 300 inhabitants, in light of the evolution of the fire, which is causing smoke to accumulate in the area, as reported by the Andalusian advisor to the Presidency, Antonio Sanz, through the social network X.

This morning the Board activated the emergency phase, operational situation 1, of the Infoca Plan due to this forest fire, which led as a preventive measure to the confinement of Igualeja, with 728 inhabitants, according to the latest official data.

During the early hours of the morning, in this municipality belonging to the Serranía de Ronda region, a preventive eviction of a home in which three people were found was carried out.

As a result of the fire, the MA-7304 highway was completely closed to traffic between kilometer points 0 and 7, in Parauta, and traffic was interrupted on the Coto highway - which links the MA-7300 with the A-397 - due to extinguishing work.

These were later added to by the cutting of the A-397 - which runs between the Marbella center of San Pedro Alcántara and Ronda - between kilometers 11.5 and 38, according to what a spokesperson for the Malaga Traffic Management Center told EFE.

Emergencies 112 recommends that residents in the area close doors and windows to prevent smoke from entering their homes, as well as pay special attention to children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems.

The fire broke out at 10:19 p.m. on Saturday near the Mirador de Igualeja area and, according to the latest Infoca update, some 140 forest firefighters, nine aerial vehicles and seven fire engines are working to extinguish it.

This is a fire in "very rugged terrain with abundant plant fuel available." The fire spreads along slopes facing the wind and forces the troops to work on it with winds from the east-southeast of 25 kilometers per hour, and gusts sometimes exceeding 45 kilometers per hour, Infoca has detailed.