I’ve spent most of the day up in Otívar and managed to glean quite a lot.

First of all, the fire started around 22.00h just before the last bend before reaching the Cázulas turn off (next to the 44-KM sign.) There was so much wind coming down the valley that the gusts pushed the fire down hill; fires normally climb.

It spread to a point just above the spring (fuente) on the lane between Cázulas House and the river, before climbing up the other side of the barranco to the Cázulas road where the pipes come down for the power station in the river.

Incidentally, the power went off around 23.00h in Almuñécar because of this fire, although it was only gone between ten and 15 minutes.

I managed to speak with Richard from the Palacete de Cázulas who confirmed that they were evacuated last night and lodged the night in Bar/Pension Parada in the Plaza de la Era, Otívar.

He had nothing but praise both for the Guardia Civil and the emergency services in generally on how they handled the situation.

He said that the first thing he knew of the fire was the sound of a car siren outside the house and he thought at the time that it must have been an ambulance for his elderly neighbour, but the noise soon returned and it turned out to be a Guardia Civil patrol car. They asked him to evacuated the premises but not to take the road up, as it was cut, but to take the road down to the river and leave their car there.

Three ladies were also evacuated and together with Richard & familywere driven up to Otivar from the river in a Guardia 4×5 via the windy and narrow back lane that comes up through the plantation into the old town-hall square.

First estimates puts the fire damage down to 18 to 20 hectares, mostly of avocados and mangoes but also of mountain shrub and isolated pines.

Units from Infoca were still dealing with smoking undergrowth by midday today but most units were withdrawn by 17.00h approximately.
[nggallery id=134]

(News: Otivar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia – video:A.Zamora, photos: Gazette)