Andalucia firefighters praised after Malaga emerges from wildfire season with just one fire larger than one square kilometre
Malaga province has avoided the devastation that swept northern Spain this summer, with rapid intervention teams limiting major blazes to just a single fire exceeding one square kilometre.
While more than 1,200 square kilometres burned in Leon province alone, Malaga’s story is remarkably different.
The Junta’s specialist Plan Infoca teams contained eight out of every ten wildfires to mere ‘outbreaks’ affecting less than ten thousand square metres.
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The province’s worst blaze occurred on July 4 in Montecorto, in the Serrania de Ronda, consuming 1.6 square kilometres.
A second significant fire in Villanueva de la Concepcion on July 11 destroyed 950,000 square metres.
Beyond these incidents, other fires remained small: Antequera (250,000 square metres), Mijas (240,000 square metres), Malaga city (80,000 square metres), Monda (50,000 square metres), Benalmadena (50,000 square metres), and Gaucin (20,000 square metres).
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The success comes from major investment in prevention.
The region spent €257 million on Plan Infoca this year, with 57% allocated to winter prevention work rather than summer firefighting.
This includes maintaining firebreaks, reducing plant fuel in high-risk areas, and coordinating 200 shepherds whose livestock keep 60 square kilometres of firebreaks grazed and clear.
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Forest fire brigades intervened so quickly in most cases that blazes were extinguished before becoming serious threats.
As the high-risk period ends on October 15, Malaga’s relatively fire-free summer highlights the effectiveness of prevention over cure.
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