Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes after a fire originated in the town of Valdemorillo, in the mountains west of Madrid, at 16:45 on Monday evening, with strong winds quickly spreading the blaze towards a residential area. As a result, emergency teams made the decision to evacuate around 2,000 people from developments in the area, although this figure could reach up to 5,000 on Tuesday.
The neighbourhoods of Cerro de Alarcón and La Charquilla are the two principle areas affected, although the flames have not yet reached these houses. The M-510 motorway has also been affected by closures as this runs through the heart of the zone.
An investigation is underway to ascertain the cause of the fire with Guardia Civil investigators thinking the blaze may have caused due to sparks from a radial saw, although they are not ruling anything out at this stage.
Ground fire fighters are being supported by seven helicopters from Madrid and three from the environmental department, with around 50 UME military specialists and a mobile ICU, four ambulances and a rapid response vehicle being on standby for medical emergencies.
Air support had to be stood down overnight, due to darkness, leaving ground teams to battle the flames alone. At this stage, the fire remains a level 1 emergency on a scale that runs from 0 to 3.
UPDATE: Tuesday morning, the fire is under control and residents allowed back into their homes. Video added taken my the emergency services from the air.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/39802/
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