The forest fire declared this Saturday in la Vall d’Uixó, in the province of Castellón, continues this Sunday active and “out of control”, according to the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, after the meeting of the Cecopi at the Advanced Command Post.
The fire has already reached a perimeter of 40 kilometers and has devoured about 4,300 hectares of the interior of Castellón, in an emergency that continues to be conditioned by adverse weather conditions and by the difficulty of access to some of the most concerning points of the fire.
The situation keeps emergency services on high alert, working to contain the advance of the flames and prevent the fire from reaching inhabited areas. The fire was close to entering the urban area of la Vall d’Uixó during the early morning, a night that the mayor of the municipality, Tania Baños, has summarized with a very graphic phrase: “It has been the worst night in our history.”
16 evacuated municipalities and 16,000 people displaced
The fire forced the evacuation of a total of 16 municipalities on Saturday and keeps about 16,000 people displaced, who will not be able to return to their homes this Sunday. The Valencian president has ruled out that return because, as he explained, the situation remains difficult and weather conditions will continue to be bad throughout the day.
“Today no one will return to their homes,” Pérez Llorca has stated, in a message directed at the neighbors affected by the evacuations and also to those who remain in confined municipalities. The decision seeks to avoid risks at a time when the fire still has the capacity to advance and when the smoke poses an additional threat to the population.
Confinement in la Vall d’Uixó and Betxí
The Cecopi maintains the confinement of la Vall d’Uixó and Betxí, two municipalities especially affected by the presence of smoke and by the proximity of the fire. The Generalitat has asked the population not to go out to the street to avoid intoxications from smoke inhalation, even in areas where the flames are no longer at the doors of the homes.
To reinforce the order, the Emergency Coordination Center has sent a new Es-Alert message to the mobile phones in the area. The notice asks to remain indoors, close doors, windows, and ventilation systems, and turn off air conditioning and extractors. “Stay indoors,” the message sent to the neighbors states.
Evacuated a senior residence
The severity of the night forced the evacuation of 113 people from the senior residence Novaedat in Vall d’Uixó. The measure was taken as a precaution due to the evolution of the fire and the presence of smoke, in an operation especially delicate because it involves vulnerable people who require assistance, adapted transport, and medical attention during the transfer.
The evacuation of a residence shows to what extent the emergency has affected the daily life of the municipality. In this type of fire, the priority is not only to stop the flames but to protect those who have more difficulties in moving or enduring prolonged exposure to smoke.
The left flank, the point that worries the most
At this moment, the main concern of the operation is concentrated on the left flank of the fire, an area of difficult access for ground brigades. This difficulty forces a reinforcement of the role of aerial means, which can attack from the air points where machinery, fire trucks, or foot units have more complicated intervention safely.
The Generalitat Valenciana has requested more aerial means from the Government of Spain, which on Saturday already sent the Military Emergency Unit. The goal is to increase the water discharge capacity during a key day to try to stop the advance of the fire before the wind or temperature worsen the scenario again.
450 personnel and up to 20 aerial means
About 450 personnel are working on the extinction tasks, and during the day, the arrival of new aerial means is expected until reaching 20 units. Among them, special reliance is placed on the action of two FOCA planes sent by the Government, with a large water load capacity.
The deployment combines firefighters, forest brigades, UME, aerial means, technical commands, health services, security forces, and coordination personnel. In an emergency of this size, coordination between land and air is decisive because the discharges are only effective if they allow ground teams to consolidate defense lines and finish off hot spots.
The Government guarantees collaboration with the Generalitat
The Minister of Science, Diana Morant, who has assumed the spokesperson role of the Government along with the delegate in the Community Valenciana, Pilar Bernabé, has highlighted the “absolute collaboration” with the Generalitat Valenciana in response to the fire.
Bernabé has guaranteed that the Government will attend to all the requests of the Valencian Executive, which holds the direction of the emergency, and has pointed out that the available aerial resources have been doubled. The message seeks to underline institutional coordination at a time when the priority is to reinforce the operation and prevent the fire from approaching urban areas again.
The main hypothesis: intentional fire
The Government delegate has confirmed that there is a investigation underway, as the main hypothesis is that the fire was intentional. “It does not seem to have occurred due to natural causes,” Bernabé has pointed out.
According to the available information, the first outbreak occurred around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday in an urban area near a school. When the firefighters managed to extinguish those flames, another focus started in a forested area. In addition, a video has been disseminated showing a man fleeing just at the moment when one of the focuses originated, a material that is already part of the context of the investigation.
19 people treated for smoke inhalation
The Generalitat has reported that 19 people have been treated for smoke inhalation at the Hospital de La Plana. Of them, seven remain under observation, two have been hospitalized, and one has been treated in the emergency room.
Smoke continues to be one of the main risks for the population, especially for the elderly, children, pregnant women, and neighbors with respiratory or cardiovascular diseases. That is why the authorities insist that those confined must remain indoors, close any entry of outside air, and only follow official instructions.
An emergency that remains open
The fire in the Vall d’Uixó continues out of control and keeps thousands of people awaiting the evolution of the wind, the arrival of new aerial resources, and the capacity of the operation to contain the most complicated flank. The night has left images of maximum tension, with the fire near the urban area, a residence evacuated, and thousands of neighbors unable to return to their homes.
The order for this Sunday is clear: the evacuees will not return home during the day and the confined neighbors must remain indoors. The priority remains to protect lives, prevent smoke poisoning, and concentrate all available resources on stopping a fire that has already devastated 4,300 hectares in Castellón.