The Castellón Provincial Firefighters Consortium declared the Segorbe and Gàtova forest fire extinguished this Tuesday at 9:00 a.m., after almost two weeks since the flames were declared. The fire has affected , according to available estimates, a total of 630 hectares of the Serra Calderona Natural Park between the provinces of Castellón and Valencia.
The fire began on the afternoon of August 20 in the municipality of Segorbe, as a result of a lightning strike during a storm. The subsequent evolution of the flames and the weather conditions caused the fire to advance until it also affected the municipality of Gàtova.
After several days of work by the extinguishing teams, the fire was controlled last Tuesday, August 25. Finally, this Tuesday the firefighters confirmed its definitive extinction.
630 hectares affected in Segorbe and Gàtova
Initial estimates place the total area affected at around 630 hectares, all of which are within the scope of the Serra Calderona Natural Park.
By municipality, approximately 395 hectares correspond to the municipality of Segorbe , while the other 235 hectares affected belong to Gàtova, already in the province of Valencia.
The location of the fire particularly increased concern as it is a natural space of great environmental and landscape value that extends between different municipalities in the interior of the provinces of Valencia and Castellón.
Gàtova had to be evacuated for two days
One of the most complicated moments of the fire occurred when the intense column of smoke and a change in wind direction increased the risk for the population of Gàtova.
Faced with this situation, the authorities ordered the evacuation of the municipality for two days as a preventive measure. The evolution of the fire also forced the temporary interruption of road communications.
Specifically, access to Gàtova was cut off through the CV-25, one of the town's main communication routes, while the work of the troops deployed on the ground continued.
A lightning strike during a storm caused the fire
Investigations place the origin of the fire in a lightning strike during a storm on August 20. From that moment on, the fire required several days of work until the extinguishing teams managed to stabilize its evolution and, subsequently, control it.
The official declaration of extinction now puts an end to the emergency, although it leaves behind 630 burned hectares in the heart of the Sierra Calderona.
With the fire already extinguished, the available estimates divide the affected area between 395 hectares in Segorbe and 235 in Gàtova, making this episode one of the outstanding forest fires of this late summer in the area of the Serra Calderona.
