Hardly what they bargained for, a relaxing Sunday afternoon it was not for the five families who were evacuated from their homes, as firefighters attempted to bring a forest and scrubland blaze under control in La Mata Natural Park.
As the fire began to threaten the properties mid-afternoon the families were asked to vacate their chalets as a precaution. Fortunately the firefighters from the Vega Sur Park (Torrevieja) managed to prevent the fire from reaching the interior of the houses, although as the flames began to threaten it was certainly a close run thing with some exterior walls and awnings badly affected.
The fire started at 3:51 pm and although the cause is not know the authorities say they are not yet able to reach any conclusion.
A total of three fire tenders attended the blaze crewed by 8 firemen, as well as agents of the Local Police who were responsible for evacuating the residents.
The flames destroyed a total of 1,500 square meters of scrub, palm trees and pine trees within the protected area of the natural park, next to the Torrevieja pink lagoon. Witnesses said that the fire, fanned by the wind, spread quickly.
Initially it was tackled by mostly foreign residents, who tried to prevent the flames from reaching their homes using water buckets and fire extinguishers.
This was the second fire in less than 48 hours in a forest area of Torrevieja. On Friday another fire broke out along the AP-7, on the border with San Miguel de Salinas, destroying two hectares of a palm grove.
