I was sitting at my computer this afternoon in my house in Fuente de la Higuera (Ronda) when the phone rang. It was my friend Julia who lives further along the valley.
“Do you know about the fire?” she asked.
I didn’t.
Tuesday 30 July 15.30
Apparently, the fire had started in the garden of the Hotel Molino del Puente, which is run by friends Ian and Elaine Love. This was around 15.30, according to the first responders I spoke to.
And because there was a strong west wind it was heading rapidly towards Hotel La Perla Blanca, my neighbour, then via several other fincas to Finca Retama, the home of friends Julia and Nick Flynn.
I put a few more clothes on and went to investigate. There was a heavy police presence and despite showing my Press card I could go no further.
I managed to get some good shots, though, and later, when the helicopter had stopped emptying bucketloads of water onto the flames, I went along to take a look at the aftermath.
The first fire truck arrives on the scene. Photograph by Paul Whitelock
Photos of the aftermath of the wildfire by Paul Whitelock
Mopping up - 18.30 onwards
I’d say we were all lucky that the fire hadn’t jumped the road. Otherwise Villa Indiana (my house), the Hotel La Perla Blanca, Bodegas Badman and possibly Finca Retama would have all been engulfed.
In actual fact, luck had nothing to do with it. The odds were against the firefighters, mainly because of the strong winds blowing from the west, yet they responded promptly to the 112 emergency calls made by Nick Flynn, Elaine Love and others, and they were on the scene very quickly. First to arrive were a large contingent from INFOCA (see Links below).
Nick and Julia Flynn with their sons Danny and Oliver
[Photograph by Paul Whitelock]
There were an amazing number of collaborators on the scene, including bomberos, guardia civil, INFOCA, Junta de Andalucía, patrulla verde, policia local, policia nacional, and SEPRONA.
They have this "off to a T" these days. The collaboration went like clockwork. It was very impressive.
Strange as it may seem no other representatives of the Press were present, no Diario SUR, no Ronda Semanal, no Olive Press, just me.
At the end, when I went back, INFOCA operatives were just damping down, cutting back and clearing up.
“It’ll take us a few hours,” said their captain.
Epilogue
This incident could have turned out very badly. If the collective effort from the authorities had not been so swift and well-coordinated, this could have turned into a major fire. If the flames had "jumped" the lane, the grapevines at Bodegas Badman would have caught quickly. The adjacent Hotel La Perla Blanca would have been under threat, as well as my property and countless others, including a small estate of newly-built houses and the fincas beyond, including Finca Retama.
A spokesman for La Perla Blanca said: "We were quite anxious for the safety of the hotel, as we were potentially in the path of the spread of the fire." He continued: "The firefighters and their colleagues were brilliant in stopping the flames from crossing the road."
In summary, those of us who were threatened by this should consider ourselves grateful to the combined services who acted promptly and effectively.
Nick Flynn told me: "We had a bad experience some 15 years ago, when a wildfire surrounded our house. Fortunately the house was spared. So we were naturally concerned when we could see today's fire heading our way."
The question is ..... how did the fire start ..... ?
"I think somebody probably tossed a cigarette end out of their car window," said Ian Love. "But I don't know for sure."
Investigations by the authorities are ongoing .....
© Pablo de Ronda
Acknowledgements:
Video Footage by Danny Flynn:
VIDEO-2024-07-30-20-15-48.MP4
VIDEO-2024-07-30-20-16-21.MP4
Photographs by Paul Whitelock
Links:
badman wines – Vinos de Ronda
Bienvenido a nuestro hermoso hotel rural en Ronda, Málaga. (hotelmolinodelpuente.com)
(20+) Facebook
CX.pdf (juntadeandalucia.es)
self-catering holiday home Ronda Andalusia Finca Retama
Help me, Ronda - HELP ME RONDA (help-me-ronda.com)
LA PERLA BLANCA - RONDA - Official Site. Book Direct and breakfast is FREE (la-perlablanca.com)
Tags:
Bodegas Badman, bomberos, Finca Retama, guardia civil, Hotel Molino del Puente, INFOCA, Julia and Nick Flynn, Junta de Andalucía, Pablo de Ronda, patrulla verde, Perla Blanca, policia local, policia nacional, press, SEPRONA, Villa Indiana