Friday saw strong winds and rain along the Costa Tropical which gave the local fire services plenty of work from fallen trees to fires on the vega.

Eight, large trees came down in Motril onto roads and footpaths, one of which was a very old cedar tree on  Las Explanadas. There was also a small landslip in the area of the Virgen de la Cabeza and access to this church was cordoned off.

As has become almost a norm, Playa Poniente became a small lagoon which necessitated heavy machinery to dry and drain it so that the chiringuitos didn’t have their trade affected – as if the road-transport strike were not enough of a burden to bear.

Over in Salobreña, trees came down as well but the worse problem was a fire down on the vega near the Punta del Río, which had the Motril fire service out all night tackling it. They had their work cut out for them as the wind, besides being quite strong, constantly veered round. They were not alone because the Guardia Civil and Policía Local were also present.

The fire was reported around 08.00h but it wasn’t declared out until 06.30h this morning. No dwellings were affected.

The Mayor, María Eugenia Rufino, reported trees down near the town cementry and another one near Lobres bridge.

Over in Almuñécar and La Herradura the rain registered 19 litres per square metre, according to the Observatorio del Pago de Guerra. That’s 19mm per sq/m, which is about 3/4″ per sq/m. Apart for being excellent for the campo, it also washed away quite a bit of Saharan dust from cars and streets, etc.

Editorial comment: we need a lot more rain, though, so let’s hope that spring brings nice, slow rain for a week at least. If that means no Semana Santa processions… it can only be God’s will, right?

(News: Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)