On the evening of 27 September, the Junta de Andalucía announced that the wildfire in the municipality of Igualeja in Málaga province had been brought under control and that the protective measures previously imposed for the public had been lifted. The operational response service Plan Infoca remains on site with ground and air crews to bring the fire fully under control and Mop-up operations carry them out.
According to the incident command, the fire broke out late in the evening of 26 September, at around 22:19. Strong winds initially increased the risk of it spreading towards inhabited areas and the adjacent Parque Nacional Sierra de las Nieves On the morning of 27 September, the Junta activated Situation operativa 1 under Plan Infoca to mobilise additional resources. Numerous ground crews and around a dozen helicopters and aircraft were deployed during the day.
The Minister for the Presidency and the Interior, Antonio Sanz, said at the forward command post in the afternoon that the favourable situation allowed the alert to be downgraded to Situation operativa 0 and the protective restrictions to be lifted. Earlier, the authorities had issued a precautionary confinement order for the villages of Igualeja and Parauta and closed several local roads. Once the situation had stabilised, those who had remained indoors as a precaution were free to move around again; some access routes initially remained subject to restrictions.
Emergency services initially reported no injuries. According to official statements, a home where three people were present had been evacuated as a precaution. The cause of the fire is being investigated; no official findings were available that evening. The authorities initially gave no details of the area provisionally affected. Plan Infoca noted that, after the situation stabilises, hotspots and perimeter areas must be extensively secured before the fire can finally be classified as “under control” and later as “extinguished”.
Background: Plan Infoca is Andalusia’s permanent system for preventing and fighting vegetation fires. Alert levels are escalated according to the situation; they determine command structures and the combined deployment of ground and air resources. Where villages are at risk, protective orders such as a confinement order may be issued. A return to Situation operativa 0 means the immediate danger has passed, but monitoring and mop-up operations continue.
Editor: Andreas M. Brucker (Article created with AI assistance).