Overnight battle

More than 200 soldiers and 70 assets from Spain's Military Emergency Unit (UME) worked through the night to contain the wildfire that broke out on Tuesday afternoon in the Murcia district of Los Garres and Lages. The fire, which started around 3:00 p.m. near the Castle of Los Garres, has burned 177 hectares of forest and abandoned citrus groves. The emergency coordination centre received over 200 calls within minutes of the first alert at 3:10 p.m., as a large smoke column became visible across the municipality.

“I want to thank the great work of the professionals who have worked tirelessly all night, and who remain on the ground until its complete extinction.”

The flames moved in all directions between the urban centre of Los Garres and the San José de la Montaña neighbourhood, fuelled by tall, very dry undergrowth that ignites rapidly. At the peak of the crisis, the fire came within metres of homes in the upper part of Garres and Lages, a district of Murcia with around 7,500 inhabitants.

Residents return

Around 100 residents were evacuated as a precaution on Tuesday evening, with approximately 50 homes cleared. The greatest danger — that the fire would reach residential buildings — was ruled out late in the evening. Residents have since been able to return to their homes. The local mayor, Antonio Ramírez, confirmed that the urban centre is no longer at risk and that the Antonio Díaz public school is expected to open normally on Wednesday.

“The reactivation of aerial resources and the continuous effort of the firefighting teams are being key to controlling the situation.”

Juan Carlos Moyano, former mayor of San José de la Vega, took in around twenty people at his home, located 300 metres from the flames. "The little bit of green and beauty we had here in Murcia. We'll see how it looks after the disaster that has formed," he said.

Aerial support resumes

Aerial firefighting operations, which cannot operate at night, resumed at first light on Wednesday. One helicopter was operating in the area early in the morning, with more aircraft to be added progressively throughout the day. Regional president Fernando López Miras stated that the first aerial asset of the morning had been incorporated and that "more assets will be progressively added." Sources agree that aerial intervention will be key to stabilising the fire, as the active hotspots are in steep, mountainous terrain that is very difficult to access by land.

“More than 200 soldiers and 70 UME assets have worked all night to extinguish a fire that remains active and for whose stabilisation the intervention of aerial resources will be key.”

Deployment and investigation

The overnight ground operation included six forest brigades, two rapid intervention brigades with technicians and coordination staff, two helicopters from the Murcia region's Directorate General for Citizen Security and Emergencies with their heliborne brigades, consortium firefighters, and the UME contingent. The regional government also requested additional resources from Castilla-La Mancha and the Valencian Community. The Guardia Civil's Nature Protection Service has opened an investigation into the fire's origin, following another blaze last Sunday that burned two hectares of forest land nearby along the Rambla de los Saltadores.