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It was the rearguard action of the hardworking staff in one of Andalucia’s most prestigious hotels that saved them from certain destruction.
As flames swept across a large swathe of virgin Tarifa countryside, dozens of employees at Punta Sur worked round the clock to keep the blaze at bay – as it lapped ‘just four metres’ from its perimeter.
Greetje custers, hotel manager at the Olive Press told Olive Press that without their hard work the Punta Sur wouldn’t be in the same state today.
Custers was forced to activate emergency protocols because the roads were closed, and there was no way to enter or exit for guests and employees.
The wildfire raged around 5pm yesterday and helicopters were buzzing overhead. She was able to gather 100 plus guests from the 40 rooms of the three-star hotels.
“We didn’t have to evacuate our hotel.” She added. “And it wouldn’t have been possible anyway, as the roads are closed.”
Hotel staff fought the fire with a relentless determination. They dampened down the hotel grounds in an effort to prevent the fire from spreading.
“The staff watered the perimeter and somehow managed to stop the fire from reaching the hotel – although at one point the flames were just four metres from some of our bedrooms.
“Everything above the Punta Sur is gone – burned. The fire was thankfully not able to cross the main road but it was close.
“I cannot stress enough how hard our staff worked to protect both our guests and our properties.”
The Dutch manager of the Punta Sur and its sister hotel, The Hurricane – where celebrated guests have included Camilla, the Queen of England – added: “The road was closed. The road was closed and our guests were unable to leave. Staff had to stay the night.
“The helicopters were gone by 9.30pm. We didn’t get into bed until after midnight and it was very difficult to sleep.”
The high winds that are typical of Tarifa dropped at nightfall, and the calmness continued through the night to prevent the flames from spreading.
“If a ‘nuclear Levante’ had been blowing things might have been different,” Greetje wryly commented.
Greetje and her team were on alert for several hours as the fire raged.
The fire, which began at the Torre de la Peña 1 campsite, was still burning this morning, with 1,550 people and over 5,000 cars evacuated from the area.
This included guests from hotels including La Cabana Hotel, 100% Fun and WAWA.
Currently, the fire is in ‘operational status 1′, as 11 groups of forest firefighters, four operations technicians, two environmental agents, one supervisory technician, a director of the Cadiz Police Department, and six fire engines work toward extinguishing the fire.
Four helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft are helping them.
The official cause of this fire is still under investigation. However, it appears to have originated in a campervan.
While flames tore through the surrounding countryside, Punta Sur staff remained calm and focused solely on their guests’ safety.
In the public housing, 92 people were housed from those who had been evacuated. The area is also a tourist destination in the summer, so overcrowding from tourism is another concern.
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