Researchers discover cause of Mijas Fire

The forest fire service Plan INFOCA in Andalusia has declared the wildfire officially extinguished that erupted on Thursday August 14 in a rural Mijas area. 

The blaze, which started around 3.45pm along the road from Alhaurín El Grande to Fuengirola, and took firefighting efforts until 12.10pm on Friday, August 15, to successfully extinguish the blaze. After the fire had been extinguished, investigators were able to quickly determine the cause.

The fire was started by a cigarette butt, which was probably flicked off a moving vehicle. The initial response teams consisted of a heavy helicopter and a lighter helicopter, as well as a firetruck and two forest firefighter squads. Additional resources were deployed as the situation intensified, including a medium heavy helicopter, two additional groups of forest firefighter, and another operations specialist.

In another incident, around 6pm on Wednesday in Malaga’s Cruz del Humilladero neighborhood, three containers caught alight during daylight. Both fires are suspected of being arson. The fire was extinguished by a nearby Lopera motorcycle shop employee, and a local resident used a fire extinguisher to do the same despite the intensity of the flames. Malaga firefighters and the local police arrived on the scene. The second container ignited while the police were dealing with the first. Local residents were alarmed by the intense flames and smoke.