The blaze started Wednesday afternoon on the slopes of Mount Putzera in the Sierra Bermeha, above the Costa del Sol, an attraction for British tourists off the coast of Andalusia, the Andalusian Fire Department (INFOCA) said on Twitter.
Hot summer weather and bad winds are triggering the fire, he said in a post late Wednesday.
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Emergency services set up tents in the city of 7,000, but most of those displaced found refuge in relatives or hotels.
Forest fire in Benahavis, Spain. June 8, 2022. REUTERS / Jon Nazca
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About 200 firefighters from the department along with 100 military and 50 firefighters from other cities on the Costa del Sol are battling the blaze.
Spotter aircraft were over the area early Thursday.
“Unfortunately, we have to report that three INFOCA firefighters suffered burns of various kinds and one of them burned 25% of his body and was taken to a hospital in Malaga,” Andalusian regional president Juanma Moreno told reporters.
Another fire destroyed the same mountain range in September, turning at least 7,780 hectares (30 square miles) of forests and shrubs to ashes in a matter of days. About 1,000 firefighters, backed by about 50 aircraft, worked to put out the blaze.
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Report by Jon Nazca. Inti Landauro writes. curated by Robert Birsel and Bradley Perrett
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