The Cómpeta fire is now under control after affecting 100 hectares

The Cómpeta fire is now under control after affecting 100 hectares The fire which broke out on Sunday afternoon in Cómpeta forced the evacuation of 600 residents. Sun Jun 29, 2014 - 22:22 The fire broke out just after 1pm in the Sierra de Tejeda, in Cómpeta on the border with Canillas de Abaida. Photo - Cómpeta Ayuntamiento At 10pm on Sunday night, the front closest to the village was extinguished, but the level 1 alert continues. Five homes in the upper part of the village have been affected as has the local football pitch. Work was concentrated on the Sierra de Tejeda and Almijara Nature Park where most Infoca fire-fighting crews are working. A force of 200 on the ground and as many as 19 airborne measures, two of which were amphibious planes from the Environment Ministry. They were taking water from the nearby La Viñuela reservoir. The extinction of the fire was complicated by the strong northerly winds in the area and the high temperatures. A spokesman from the Provincial Firemen’s Consortium (CPB) Manuel Marmolejo said, ‘The wind is the worst, and there have been some critical moments, because at one time we thought the fire could reach the village, and we had a bad time’. President of the Provincial Government, Elias Bendodo, said there was ‘correct and perfect’ coordination between the several services fighting the fire, and he underlined the work of the Guardia Civil in the evacuation. The fire is worst in the municipality for forty years, and the homes which were completely destroyed are in the Cruz del Monte estate, according to the Mayor, José Luis Torres, who was taking to La Opinión de Málaga. There were precautionary evacuations in the northern zone of the village, in Las Colmenillas, Tejarillo. 200 people who were on a romeria pilgrimage from Canillas de Albaida who were in the zone of the ‘Fabrica de la Luz’ were among the 600 evacuated. The ecologist group GENA Ecologistas en Accion, accused the local and regional authorities for the fire. The collective issued a statement: ‘It appears the fire has started in the area of disperse urbanisation, which the local authorities, and by omission the Junta de Andalucía, who have allowed construction outside the village limits, in a zone of difficult access and with abundant forest vegetation.