Cortijo Grande has been reopened, at least the lower half. The upper half and Cabrera are still closed. Roads must still be cleared and not obstructed under any circumstances.
A large plume of smoke shot up 20 mins ago to the far right of Cabrera and helicopters have moved over.
Plumes of smoke are still coming out from the other side of the mountains.
Finca Listonero and some houses nearby are a “bulldozer job” according to an eyewitness, although the whole area there is still sealed off by Guardia officers who are assessing the damage. Not even the townhall is allowed in yet.
It appears that the fire mainly danced over the golf course, due to the amount of greenery there. Fire fighters concentrated their efforts on protecting population centres, but outlying cortijos were on their own.
The fire reached Sopalmo and Carboneras. The latest estimate of the damage from the townhall is between 3,600 to 4,000 square ha burnt, which is a huge amount.
Pat Weston from Arriba Bar has just sent me this:
Just to let you know it seems that the fire is still going but at the back
of Hotel Puerto Marina I think most of the army has gone past – we have
Arriba Bar so are quite high up on the playa and there are bomberos in high
numbers going up there – hope no one gets hurt
hi there, dont know if you can help but any info would be greatly appreciated. My mum has a town house overlooking the golf course at cortijo grande. She is in the uk at moment. her terrace is right on edge of the fairway. (not far from golf course club house). Do you know if this area has been particularly affected.
many thanks
amanda
Tony don’t panic!
Look at the links to David’s other pages, found above this comment section. There’s lots more info on these, especially the one called “flames visible…”
From what I’ve heard there’s alot of smoke damage to the houses in the valley. The real damage seems to have been done further up from your Mum’s – Finca Listonero’s been very badly hit.
amanda
im in a villa overlooking the golfcourse the houses all around the golf course are not touched by the fire, its still very rich in greenery there! the fire came right up to my patio and surrounded my house but no damage to the house thank goodness, think someone up there put a fireblanket over the houses!
I understand that most house are OK, Casa Green has been rather badly burnt, but on our side of the valley we have no power or water, initial indications from Gruppo Colt regarding reinstating services does not look too encouraging!!
Any knowledge or views on the subject would be most helpful
I would like to thank the fire operators and emergency services for all their efforts with this extremely difficult fire, ie all the powerful winds and the shear quickness that the fire produced itself. I live in Turre but work with many in the Cabrera mountains. I am but a mear mortal to this fire and am a hard working mum, I am ashamed to hear the so called OTHERS complaining about the way that they were evacuated and the way they treated people in this situation. I am sorry, but if a man willing to give his life for others does not have a 5 star hotel available for you silver spoon people to go to then you think this is bad??? You really dont have a clue about the real life here. GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME. I as a hard worker here love life in Turre and Cabrera, with all it’s faults including mother nature’s, and have done for both two fires that have brought us devistation but unison. Please, for all those that think they are above themselves to critisise, think about the families that the men that saved you’re garden went home to. No more needs said.
Many thanks,
Anon.xxxxxxx
Here here Anon! i totally agree! The emergency services did an incredible and fantastic job! Maybe if the people who are complaining made an effort to make friends in the community they may have found other 5 star treatment from the local villagers as i did with my son,3 dogs and a cat! We found the community spirit extremely uplifting as we watched the mountain burn and wondering if we would have a home to return to! Having only been living in Cortijo Grande a year i have made some lovely friends and we had 3 offers of a room that night in Turre!
We watched the fire from the village and i was more worried about the men fighting it than where the nearest 5 star hotel was!
And also a big thank you to David Jackson for up to the minute blogging as that helped tremendously as i was on my mobile relaying back to friends in the UK who are property owners here and they were relaying back far more info from Davids blogging than we could actually find out on the night, and also supressed all the silly rumours that people had been killed and ALL cabrera had gone up in the fire!!
so WELL DONE David! credit where credit is due!
And to all the ‘5 star’ moaners……try making friends…you might like it!
Was hoping to travel to Mojacar in just over a weeks time,can anyone please advise me as Im hearing and see different reports.We are taking three young children and would prefer not to put them through an unpleasant experience if possible,many thanks
Dean: At the moment it’s too soon to say anything definite, but if you have travel insurance check the conditions to see if you will get a refund if you cancel. Unless your intended accommodation is burnt, then I think they won’t pay. No parent willingly puts their family at risk, but there are thousands of families already here, so yours won’t be any different. Once the fires are fully out, there will be a lack of vegetation to fuel more fires for some while and it would be an experience that they might have something to tell when they return. Water is out at the moment, but beach showers are working and water from the pool can flush the toilet. just be sensible and check first, but I have family going there today, and I’m not intending to send them to their deaths!!! (much as I’d want to sometimes!!)