Oviedo (EFE).- The firefighting services continue to monitor more than thirty fires in Asturias that are under review and another seven that have not yet been extinguished, including the one in Las Regueras, in the vicinity of Oviedo, which threatened four towns over the weekend and which was considered under control last night.
Earlier in the day there were also three active fires -Riopinoso, Buseco and Belén- and five more under review in Valdés, the western coastal council of the community that has been most affected by the latest wave of fires.
The Tineo BRIF, firefighters from the council, Cangas del Narcea and Barres and a helicopter will travel to this area today to act in places that are difficult to access.
Firefighters from Grandas de Salime are also working on the Navedo fire, in Illano, who will be joined throughout the day by personnel from a forestry company and the BRIF from Lada.
A Preventive Work Brigade and the BRIF from Tabuyo will also travel this morning to Teverga, to act on the fire declared in Villamayor, which is already under review.
In Cangas del Narcea and Parres there are also active fires that are being monitored by the nursery, which keeps under review more than thirty outbreaks declared in twenty municipalities: Allande, Aller, Boal, Cabrales, Cangas de Onís, Cangas del Narcea , Grado, Llanes, Laviana, Lena, Onís, Piloña, Quirós, Nava, Ribadesella, Salas, San Martín del Rey Aurelio, Tineo and Villayón.
The drop in temperatures favors extinction
The drop in temperatures and the entry of air from the north loaded with high humidity has favored the extinction of the fires that throughout the weekend led the Principality to request the support of the Military Emergency Unit and the BRIF of Asturias , Cantabria, León and Orense.
With most of the fires under review and the Las Regueras fire under control, the regional government decided yesterday to lower the Principality’s Fire Protection Plan (INFOPA) to level 1, which had been raised to level two on Saturday afternoon, which it is started when the fire could seriously affect the population and the help of extraordinary means is necessary.
The Principality had placed INFOPA in phase zero eight days ago due to weather conditions that helped put an end to the wave of fires that the community had been experiencing since March 23 and which, according to initial estimates, could have burned some 20,000 hectares.
However, until the end of this week the exact extent devastated by the fire will not be known, nor will the aid that the regional Executive has announced to alleviate the damage caused by the fire be ready.
The risk of forest fires being declared today will be “extreme” in 21 councils, nine fewer than yesterday, but it will remain “very high” in the remaining 57 municipalities, according to the indicator prepared daily by the General Directorate of Rural Infrastructures and Forestry.
The State Meteorological Agency forecasts a drop in temperatures and some light rain in the afternoon, which will be accompanied by intervals of westerly winds, more intense on the coast and in mountain areas.
Sixty-one fires in the mountains of Cantabria so far in April
Up to 61 forest fires have been registered in Cantabria in the ten days that have elapsed this month of April, all of them caused, as reported early this Monday by the Government of Cantabria.
At 6:00 this morning, three fires were still active in the region, specifically in Valderredible, Riotuerto and Lamasón.
Another three are still not extinguished but controlled in the municipalities of Soba, Rionansa and another in Lamasón, according to data provided by the Cantabrian Executive.
Since 7:00 p.m. yesterday, Sunday, six forest fires have been registered in Cantabria, while any type of burning continues to be prohibited in the autonomous community.