The Sierra Calderona fire, in Castellón, worsens and forces the evacuation of Gátova: "The perimeter is not consolidated, not by a long shot"

The Generalitat Valenciana has ordered this Friday the complete evacuation of Gátova due to the worsening of the Segorbe forest fire, which is advancing through the Sierra Calderona and maintains several points of special danger. The Emergency Coordination Center has sent an Es-Alert to mobile phones in the area to ask residents to leave the municipality and head towards Olocau and Bétera following the CV-25 road and the instructions of the emergency services.

The order replaces the confinement decreed just two hours earlier due to the arrival of smoke in the urban area. The unfavorable evolution of the fire and the increase in wind have led Emergencies to toughen protection measures. The fire is now in situation 2 of the Special Plan against the Risk of Forest Fires, a level that is activated in the event of a possible serious impact on the population and allows the incorporation of extraordinary State resources.

The latest official balance places the affected area at 133 hectares, all within the municipality of Segorbe, with an approximate perimeter of 7.8 kilometers. 30 ground units and 17 aerial units are working in the area, in addition to helitransported brigades and personnel from the provincial consortiums of Castellón and Valencia.

The magnitude of this deployment reflects the difficulty of a fire that remains far from being stabilized. "The perimeter is by no means consolidated," warned the technical director of extinction, Pablo Vila. During the afternoon, the behavior of the flames forced several units to temporarily withdraw and relocate to safety zones, while the strategy was reviewed from the Advanced Command Post.

Three critical areas in almost inaccessible terrain

The teams are focusing their efforts on three sectors. The first is a burning ravine advancing towards Pico del Águila, covered by a large amount of smoke and with very limited access for ground vehicles. The second is located in some cliffs between Gátova and Segorbe, where the slope, vegetation, and absence of tracks make it practically impossible to work from the ground. Helitransported brigades are trying to stop the spread of the fire there.

The third critical area is at the tail of the fire, oriented towards Gátova. Firefighters have detected a reproduction that Vila has described as "quite serious" and have allocated part of the operation to contain it. During the first hours of the day, the cultivated terraces and the wind direction offered some protection to the municipality, but the change recorded in the afternoon finally led to the evacuation.

Weather conditions are not giving a break either. AVAMET has registered in Gátova east-northeast wind of 32 kilometers per hour, 27 degrees, and 64% humidity. In Segorbe, the temperature reached 29 degrees, with southeast wind of 24 kilometers per hour. The meteorological association has warned that the wind has intensified and that the evolution of the fire in recent hours has been unfavorable.

The UME mobilizes from Bétera

The Generalitat has requested the intervention of the Military Emergency Unit after raising the fire to situation 2. Units of the Third Emergency Intervention Battalion have left the Bétera base, in Valencia, to reinforce ground efforts and facilitate the work of aerial means in the most difficult sectors.

The fire started around 8:20 PM on Thursday after a lightning strike hit the upper part of the mountain range. The Seprona of the Civil Guard has confirmed this origin after inspecting the area. The storms barely left any water and found extremely dry vegetation after weeks of heat, a combination that favored the rapid spread of the flames.

Ground crews worked throughout the night in especially harsh conditions and without air support. With the first light, helicopters and planes joined, although the orography continues to condition every movement. The mayor of Gátova, Jesús Salmerón, had estimated the number of people mobilized at more than 120 and summarized the dimension of the operation with a graphic phrase: "There are almost more resources than population".

The municipality has also reserved the water from its reservoirs for tanker trucks and fire engines, in addition to making the municipal swimming pool and several rafts available to the operation. The Advanced Command Post remains installed in Gátova and the Cecopi is scheduled to meet at 7:00 PM to evaluate the progress of the fire. The current order requires abandoning the municipality and moving towards Olocau and Bétera, following exclusively the instructions of the emergency teams.