Almuñécar Town Hall has requested a grant to help the owners of properties that were damaged by the recent fire.

The Mayor, Juanjo Ruiz Joya, explained that the affected areas are Peña Escrita, El Cerval, Rescate, La Albita, Los Escobales and La Bóveda.

He said that he had met with the Councillors for the Rural Environment (Luis Aragón) and Agriculture (Carlos Ferrón) in order to take the first steps to restore normality to the affected areas, starting with using heavy machinery to repair the damaged tracks and lanes, which in some places had been covered by rock & earth slides.

Mayor Ruiz Joya said that they want the fire-damaged areas to be declared Zona Afectada Gravemente por una Emergencia de Protección Civil, which used to be known as simply Zona Catastrófica. This would entitle fruit farmers who have lost their crops to receive compensation from the regional and central authorities.

The Town Hall also intends to make the affected areas exempt from paying the IBI so that they can save and reinvest in their properties.

As far as what might have caused the fire, the Town Hall is calling for patience and to allow the Infoca experts time to determine the cause behind the largest fire in the province this year.

(News: Almunecar/Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)