Juanma Moreno asks for "maximum caution" regarding the Niebla fire after new evacuations: "It gives no respite"

The Niebla forest fire gives no respite and has forced the expansion of preventive evacuations this Monday in the provinces of Huelva and Seville. The new orders affect Las Delgadas, Monte Sorromero, El Madroño, and four Sevillian hamlets. If their registered population is added to the residents who were already out of their homes, the fire leaves nearly 800 people affected by the evacuations.

Juanma Moreno has asked for "maximum caution" in the face of wind changes and secondary outbreaks caused by convective phenomena. The President of the Junta de Andalucía recalled that more than 600 personnel are working on the ground, waiting for meteorological conditions to allow them to attack the flames more effectively.

"The Niebla fire gives no respite. Wind changes and secondary outbreaks originating from convective phenomena persist, making this fire so complex," Moreno warned. The Andalusian leader has asked to trust in a device that continues to take measures to reinforce the protection of threatened municipalities.

The fire broke out last Thursday afternoon in the Raboconejo area, within the municipality of Niebla. Four days later, it remains active and maintains the emergency phase in operational situation 2 of the Infoca Plan. The area within its perimeter already exceeds 20,000 hectares of eucalyptus, dehesa, and pine forest.

The Junta has insisted that this calculation corresponds to the terrain covered by the fire and does not mean that all 20,000 hectares have been completely burned. The definitive measurement will depend on the cartography and images provided by the European Copernicus satellite system when the evolution of the fire allows for precise delimitation of the affected areas.

A fire beyond extinction capacity

The fire remains beyond extinction capacity due to its extremely violent behavior. The expression describes a situation in which teams have resources, but the fire conditions prevent a safe direct attack and reduce the effectiveness of usual strategies.

The southwest wind, the succession of ravines, and the large columns generated by the fire itself are causing secondary outbreaks several kilometers from the main front. Embers and incandescent materials cross defense lines, open new fire points, and can surround deployed professionals in a few minutes.

Antonio Sanz, First Vice President and Minister of the Presidency, Health and Emergencies, explained that some crews have had to be evacuated by helicopter after being isolated by the flames. Turbulence and the intensity of the heat also cause part of the water dropped from planes and helicopters to evaporate before reaching the ground.

"The secondary outbreaks make the evolution of the fire unpredictable," Sanz warned. The head of the operation has asked residents to respect all instructions and avoid returning on their own to evacuated areas to check the condition of their homes.

On the ground, more than 600 personnel, up to 26 aerial assets, and a dozen bulldozers are working. The operation includes 314 Infoca professionals, 250 military personnel from the Military Emergency Unit, firefighters from the Provincial Consortium of Seville, and personnel displaced from Cáceres, in addition to the Civil Guard, Civil Protection, Red Cross, and the Andalusia Emergency Group.

Work is concentrated on the northern flank and the head of the fire, located to the northeast. The objective is to consolidate a defense line between El Pozuelo, Marigenta, and Berrocal using heavy machinery, ground teams, retardant drops, and controlled burns aimed at eliminating vegetation before the flames arrive.

The device also maintains a second contingency line between Aznalcóllar and Berrocal. This defense must stop the advance if the secondary outbreaks overcome the first perimeter. The immediate priority continues to be to narrow the fire, reduce its energy, and protect the population centers located in its trajectory.

Antonio Sanz has acknowledged that forecasts do not allow for an immediate stabilization. "Hours and probably days of intense work remain," he said from the Advanced Command Post. Those responsible for the operation expect a meteorological window that will allow them to take advantage of the entire deployment and regain the initiative against the flames.

New evacuations in Huelva and Seville

The emergency management has ordered this Monday the preventive evacuation of Las Delgadas and Monte Sorromero, belonging to the Huelva municipality of Zalamea la Real. The two towns have a total of 35 registered residents, 29 in Las Delgadas and six in Monte Sorromero.

Their residents are being transferred to the Ruiz Tatay Municipal Theater in Zalamea la Real, located about 14 kilometers away. The planned route runs along the HU-6104, the A-476, and the N-435. The operation has prepared special assistance for people with reduced mobility and has organized the transfer of a vulnerable 92-year-old neighbor who has no family members who can take care of her.

The order also extends to El Madroño, in the province of Seville, and its four hamlets: El Álamo, Juan Antón, Juan Gallego, and Villargordo. The municipality has 286 registered inhabitants, about 180 in the main nucleus and another 106 distributed among the villages.

Residents are being directed towards El Castillo de las Guardas by the provincial roads that connect with the A-476. The City Council has enabled vehicles for those who lack their own transport, and emergency services have checked the hamlets to see if there were any vulnerable people left.

The evacuation has been ordered in advance due to the possible evolution of the fire towards the northeast, the smoke, and the risk that the flames may end up affecting the exit routes. The authorities have specified that the fire has not yet entered the province of Seville, although the situation requires anticipating and evacuating the population while displacements can be carried out in an orderly manner.

The new evacuations add to the nearly 474 residents evacuated during the weekend in Berrocal and different villages and scattered settlements of Niebla, Villarrasa, Zalamea la Real, Paterna del Campo and La Palma del Condado. Among the affected areas are El Pozuelo, Marigenta, El Membrillo, Raboconejo, Caballón, La Florida, Las Arenas and El Manzanito.

The sum of the censuses raises to around 800 the people affected by the evacuation orders, although the number of transfers made is somewhat lower because several homes are second residences and some residents were already outside their localities. Most remain with relatives or in other homes and a part is being attended in the centers enabled by the administrations.

The authorities have reiterated that no one can return to the evacuated areas while the order remains in force. "It is not a recommendation, but a mandatory instruction", Sanz warned. Access for urgent reasons, such as collecting medicines, documents or caring for animals, must be coordinated in advance with the Civil Guard.

The fire also keeps the road network affected. The SE-6402 remains cut between Aznalcóllar and El Álamo, while cuts or restrictions continue on the HU-3106, the A-493, the HU-5104, the HU-4103 and the HU-6104. The road that connects Marigenta with Las Delgadas also remains closed.

The environmental impact already reaches forest areas of El Condado and the Mining Basin. The environmental association Ituci Verde has warned of damage in areas of Berrocal and Paterna del Campo and fears that the advance could compromise areas of great value such as the Sierra de Tejada and La Pata del Caballo, where native cork oak forests and protected species survive.

The device will continue working during the afternoon and night to contain the northern flank, protect Berrocal and monitor the evolution towards Seville. The fire remains active, evacuations remain in force and meteorological conditions have not yet offered the window that extinction teams need.