Oviedo, Apr 1 (EFE).- The forest fires in Asturias are currently “controlled and stabilized”, except for one fire registered in Parres and another in Belmonte de Miranda, for which reason support troops are beginning to be withdrawn that have been deployed in recent days in the community.
This was confirmed this Saturday by the manager of the Emergency Service of the Principality of Asturias (SEPA), Óscar Rodríguez, at a press conference in which he was accompanied by the President of the Principality, Adrián Barbón, to take stock of the wave of fires that They have affected the western zone with special virulence and have forced the evacuation of nearly 400 people.
At this time, there are 71 “open” fires, but they are “controlled”, and only two, in Aballe (Parres) and Cutiellos (Belmonte de Miranda), have not yet been stabilized, although the arrival of rain will help the work , has pointed out the manager of SEPA.
After insisting that both fires have a “favorable evolution”, he has estimated the number of hectares that have been affected in the western area at around 11,000 and between 30 and 40 hectares in Monte Naranco, although the damage has yet to be accurately assessed.
The fires registered over the last few days in the Principality have forced the evacuation of 375 people and the closure of roads -including the A-8 for twelve hours-, and have caused the burning of buildings, such as granaries and stables , although no inhabited house has been burned, he specified.
The SEPA manager, who has highlighted the “extreme speed” with which the fire has acted, has indicated that they have been “very hard days of work” with great danger “in which there have been no injuries.
For his part, the President of the Principality has assured that Asturias is experiencing an “emergency” situation in the face of this wave of fires, the worst since 2017, which have been caused by “real terrorists” who “have put the lives of people at risk ”.
“You have to be aware that there could have been hundreds of deaths throughout these days,” warned the head of the Asturian Executive, who has assured that, at times, “Asturias was burning on all four sides.”
After reiterating that the fires “have been premeditated”, he stressed that those responsible must be identified so that they “pay with the full force of the penal code”.
Likewise, it has guaranteed that when this episode ends, the fire defense and prevention strategy will be “evaluated” to try to “paralyze these criminals.”
“There is no possible explanation for the Naranco fire. It caught on twelve points at the same time ”, he warned.
The president has valued the work of the entire operation and has pointed out that the Principality is collecting data to request that Asturias “or at least the areas most affected” be declared a catastrophic area.
Barbón and the manager of SEPA have held a telematic meeting with mayors of the municipalities affected by the fires in La Morgal.
