Swift Response by Firefighters Prevents Blaze on Mount Ponoig

Just an hour after the Generalitat Valenciana's emergency services reported the outbreak of a fire near Mount Ponoig, the mayor of Polop de la Marina, José Luis Susmozas, confirmed to TodoAlicante that the swift response of emergency services ensured it was merely a scare, the first of the summer in the Marina Baixa. "It was a scare. The fire affected a terraced area, but fortunately, the firefighters managed to control it very quickly," said the relieved mayor of Polop.

Susmozas made these statements shortly before five in the afternoon, just an hour after the Generalitat Valenciana's emergency services alerted that several firefighting units from the Comunitat were battling a blaze on Mount Ponoig.

According to a message posted by the 112 emergency services on social media, the fire had started around four o'clock on Sunday afternoon. The firefighting efforts included three units of the Generalitat Valenciana's forest firefighters, two fire engines, a team from the Alicante Provincial Firefighters Consortium, two aerial units, a forest coordinator, an environmental agent, and a fire prevention unit.

This fire occurred on the hottest day of the summer so far in the Marina Baixa region. In fact, at the time the flames started, the neighbouring town of Altea recorded, with 37.7ºC according to Avamet data, the highest temperature in the entire Comunitat Valenciana. In Polop, at the same time, the thermometer registered 31.8ºC.