The Tírig fire, in Castellón, faces this Monday, August 10, a decisive day after weather conditions have allowed for a considerable improvement in the situation during the night. Emergency services describe the evolution of the fire as favorable, although the fire is still not stabilized or controlled.
The latest estimate raises the affected area to approximately 810 hectares, within a perimeter of about 21 kilometers. This figure exceeds the 684 hectares previously counted, although part of this increase is related to the technical fires carried out by the firefighting teams themselves to close and secure the perimeter.
The operation against the Tírig forest fire maintains a significant deployment on land and air this Monday. Around 50 ground units, more than 300 personnel, and 21 aerial resources are participating in the firefighting efforts with the aim of consolidating the progress made during the night and achieving stabilization of the fire.
A favorable night allows progress against the Tírig fire
The evolution of the Tírig fire during the night has been very favorable thanks, among other factors, to the strong increase in relative humidity. The values reached around 90%, conditions that reduced the activity of the flames and facilitated the work of the teams deployed on the ground.
The personnel took advantage of this situation to carry out technical fires in the northern and southern sectors of the fire. These operations consist of burning certain areas in a controlled manner to eliminate vegetation fuel and hinder the fire's ability to continue advancing if its intensity increases again.
The objective during this Monday is to take advantage of the favorable conditions to continue closing the perimeter and advance towards the stabilization of the Tírig fire. The incorporation of aerial resources during the morning has allowed for the reinforcement of the operation after the work carried out exclusively from the ground during the night hours.
Catí remains evacuated due to the forest fire
The situation in the municipality of Catí continues to be one of the main focal points of attention. The town was evacuated preventively on Sunday due to the advance of the fire and, for the moment, its residents remain outside their homes awaiting the evolution of the fire to ensure a safe return.
The evacuation affects a locality of around 700 inhabitants and responds both to the risk for the population and to the presence of numerous livestock farms in the environment. The area has more than 60 farms, whose protection has conditioned part of the operation deployed during the last hours.
The improvement experienced during the night opens the door to reevaluating the situation, although any decision about the return of the neighbors will depend on the emergency officials. As long as the fire does not reach a sufficient level of stabilization and safety, Catí will remain under the established preventive measures.
More than 300 personnel and 21 aerial resources against the flames
The device deployed against the Tírig fire is formed this Monday by more than 300 personnel, around fifty ground units, and 21 aerial resources. The operation combines resources from different administrations to try to secure the sectors where the advance of the flames has been managed to be halted.
The work is especially concentrated on consolidating the perimeter and preventing possible reproductions. Although the conditions of the night have allowed considerable progress, high temperatures and any change in the wind or humidity can quickly modify the behavior of a forest fire.
For this reason, the high number of resources continues to be deployed despite the favorable evolution of the Tírig fire. The priority is to completely stabilize the perimeter before beginning a gradual reduction of the resources allocated to the emergency.
The Tírig fire began on Friday and a lightning strike is the main hypothesis
The Tírig forest fire was declared on Friday, August 7 in the late afternoon. The initial investigations point to the fall of a lightning strike as the main hypothesis regarding the origin of the fire, after the storm activity recorded in different points of the interior of Castellón.
Since then, the affected area has been increasing. During Saturday, estimates placed the burned area at around 395 hectares and 15 kilometers of perimeter. Subsequently, the balance increased to 684 hectares and approximately 19 kilometers before reaching the current estimate.
The latest balance places the fire at about 810 hectares and 21 kilometers of perimeter. The increase does not necessarily imply that there has been an equivalent advance of the flames in the last hours, as the calculation includes areas affected by the technical fires carried out by the extinguishing teams.
The fire in Tírig is still not stabilized
Despite the improvement in the last hours, the fire in Tírig still cannot be considered stabilized or controlled. The extinguishing services continue to work on the ground and maintain the important aerial and ground device deployed in case of possible reactivations.
The meteorological evolution will be decisive in the coming hours. After a night with very high relative humidity, the increase in temperatures during the central hours of the day may again reduce the humidity of the vegetation fuel and complicate the tasks of the personnel.
The scenario is, however, more favorable than during the day on Sunday. The teams face this Monday with the objective of advancing towards the stabilization of the forest fire in Tírig, while surveillance over the perimeter is maintained and Catí remains evacuated as a preventive measure.