Wildfire in La Alcaidesa forces evacuation of summer camp 

A wildfire declared on Monday at the La Alcaidesa estate, located in the Sierra del Arca, led to the evacuation of around 60 children and 10 monitors from a nearby summer camp, according to Campo firefighters.  

Guardia Civil officers and San Roque local police moved the group to a safe area due to the fire’s close proximity to the building where activities were underway. Medical services conducted checks once the group had been relocated. 

Firefighters from Spain’s Infoca Plan, which coordinates resources to fight wildfires, were deployed to the public woodland area to contain the blaze, which was reported at 3.55pm.  

The fire was stabilised shortly before 5.30pm and brought under control by 6.30pm, marking the final stage before full extinction. 

Initially, three groups of forest firefighters, an operations technician and an environmental agent were mobilised, supported by a medium-capacity helicopter. However, the aircraft and one of the teams later withdrew. 

Firefighters from the San Roque station, supported by crews from Algeciras, focused on protecting nearby buildings until all evacuated personnel were authorised to return. 

This marks the sixth intervention by Infoca in the Campo de Gibraltar region this summer, which has seen a rise in wildfires, Campo newspaper Europa Sur reported. 

On May 26, Infoca contained a fire near the El Cuartón housing development between Tarifa and Algeciras within an hour of it being declared at around 6.30am. No injuries or property damage were reported. 

July began with a blaze on July 3 in El Pedregoso, Facinas (Tarifa), caused by a wind turbine from the Danish company Vestas Wind Systems. Strong easterly winds reaching 70 kilometres per hour hindered containment efforts in the early hours. 

Another fire occurred on July 11 in the Botafuegos area of Algeciras, starting on the roadside of the CA-9208 near the Botafuegos Penitentiary. The westerly wind accelerated the spread, prompting the evacuation of residents from 45 homes in areas including Cañá de Los Tomates, La Bajadilla Alta, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente Street and Cuesta de El Piojo. 

On July 15, Infoca extinguished a wildfire behind the Punta Sur hotel in Tarifa. The fire began in a riverside and reedbed area known as El Torrejón, near the N-340 road and close to the Strait of Gibraltar Natural Park. 

Infoca returned to the region on July 16 to combat another wildfire between Getares and Pelayo. Dense smoke columns were reported, and road access from both directions was cut off as the fire burned in the upper area of Las Pantallas, above Getares in Algeciras.