The forest fire which raged in the north west of Ibiza in the municipality of San Juan has now been declared 'under control.' Resources used to fight the fire – both manpower and machines – have now been reduced; members of the army's emergency squad, and specialist fire-fighters from Catalonia and Valencia along with 11 aircraft have all returned to base.
This still leaves around 300 brave men and women, 5 helicopters and 4 planes to maintain the perimeter of the fire and damp down any resurgence of the flames within it.
The fire was started last Wednesday after sparks fell from a smoke machine used by a bee keeper and after a week of abnormally high temperatures were quickly fanned by hot dry winds. A plume of smoke could be seen from many miles away as the fire spread and the air quickly became filled with helicopters and fire fighting planes carrying water to try to douse the voracious flames.
As the fire spread in a largely unpopulated area it became apparent that it would not be extinguished promptly and people owning villas there, many are second residences, were advised to leave or not visit. House owners are now being allowed back to their properties as the risk of fire has diminished.
In balance, this is the worst forest fire that Ibiza has ever experienced, with over 1200 hectares of pine woods destroyed and more affected, even more than the fire in Benirras last year.
Thankfully, it occurred in an area where not many people live and quite a distance from any holiday resorts.
The work will start almost immediately to reafforest the area which was the scene of a big fire back in 1983.
