A 65-year-old man died of a heart attack on Saturday afternoon in the town of Sejas de Aliste, in the province of Zamora, Spain. The man, who had previous heart problems, was being evacuated along with his neighbors when he was attended to by emergency services deployed in the area fighting the fires, but unfortunately, they were not able to save his life. The national N-122 road was closed for several hours, and the nearby town of Trabazos, with 850 residents, was also evacuated. The flames have affected over 200 hectares of land, according to estimates by the firefighters involved in the operation. Firefighters have made progress in controlling the flames in the past few hours due to nighttime work and improved conditions, including less wind and more humidity. The fire had started in a pine forest near the Aliste region and quickly spread due to strong winds of 50 to 60 kilometers per hour.
The fire required a level 2 alert, out of a maximum of 3, indicating that the population was at risk. The president of the Provincial Council of Zamora expressed caution regarding the possible origin of the fire, suggesting that it may have been intentional as there were no natural causes such as lightning or dry storms. The fire’s front, where the flames spread most rapidly, extended parallel to the national N-122 road, which was reopened early on Sunday after several hours of closure. Residents of Trabazos left the town in their own vehicles or with assistance provided by the local government. Rubén Díaz, the director of operation during the night of the Emergency Civil Protection Plan for Forest Fires in Castilla y León, stated on Sunday that the situation of the fire was “quite favorable” for achieving control after intense nighttime work.
Díaz mentioned that 70% of the fire perimeter had been contained, thanks to ground resources, and he trusted in a strong attack by air resources that were inactive during the night. Firefighters’ feedback indicated that the challenging environmental conditions would make the initial response difficult, but they remained hopeful for the night shift due to anticipated improved conditions. The complexity of the fire remained mostly in the head of the fire, which was not entirely extinguished but was in better condition than the afternoon. This fire adds to another recent incident where a fire spread from Portugal to the border with Zamora, consuming several hectares without affecting nearby towns.
Firefighters and residents in the Zamora region have vivid memories of the devastating fires in the summer of 2022 in the Culebra mountain range, just a few kilometers from Aliste, where approximately 60,000 hectares burned between two fires in June and July. In the last fire, four people lost their lives, including a firefighter from the Villardecie base. These incidents remind the community of the destructive power of wildfires and the importance of preparedness and coordination in responding to such emergencies.
