Oviedo, Apr 2 (EFE) western.
The Principality has lowered the alert level due to the improvement in the situation, to which the rains and the change in wind direction have contributed, and the work is focusing on the review, monitoring and cooling of hot spots within the burned areas.
The troops are currently in Almono, in Allande; in Cutiellos, in Belmonte de Miranda; in Foyedo, Lavadoira, Solanos, Villanueva de Rañadoiro and Navelgas, in Tineo; in Querúas La Herrería de Abajo and Merás, in Valdés; in Bustefollado, in Villayón.
The community is already in the emergency phase in situation 0 of the Forest Fire Plan of the Principality, after eleven days in which nearly 400 people have been evacuated and buildings have been burned, such as cabins and granaries, but not habitual residences, according to the Asturias Emergency Service.
According to the first estimates, some 11,000 hectares have been burned, only behind those registered in October 2017 and December 2015, when nearly 13,000 and more than 16,000 hectares were razed, respectively.
The region has suffered up to 135 fires simultaneously and has needed the support of troops from the Military Emergency Unit (UME) and teams from other communities that were part of an operation that has come to be made up of more than 800 people. .
The President of Asturias, Adrián Barbón, has stressed over the last few days that the fires have been caused by “real terrorists” who “have put people’s lives at risk.”
“You have to be aware that there could have been hundreds of deaths over these days,” warned the chief executive, who said that, in the face of this episode, he wants to “see people in jail.”
The perpetrators of arson could face penalties ranging from one to twenty years in prison if there has been a risk to the physical integrity of people, as recalled by the Superior Prosecutor of Asturias, which has opened investigation proceedings for the wave of fires .
After the cessation of the fires, they have begun to assess the damage caused to begin the reconstruction of the affected territories, for which the regional Executive will request the declaration of Asturias as a catastrophic area and will launch a series of aid aimed at alleviating the damage.
The Minister of Rural Affairs and Territorial Cohesion, Alejandro Calvo, has advanced that direct aid will be implemented to compensate for damage to private property and has guaranteed that burned areas will be reforested.
