La Devesa fire: El Saler evacuated amid arson suspicions

The La Devesa fire leaves El Saler evacuated and under suspicion

A fire station 500 metres away, sprinkler systems already installed, and a linear natural park barely half a kilometre wide. Even so, the fire has swept through part of La Devesa-El Saler and forced the evacuation of the village. Same Spain, two climates: in León it was raining like a November day while Valencia was suffocating under a grey haze visible from the motorway.

Several simultaneous outbreaks, dry scrubland and pine needles left uncleared right up to the road. Those who know the area had long been warning that it was going to burn. The uncomfortable question is whether the spark arrived on its own or whether someone brought it there.

A late response and a wind that changed the plan

The sequence described by those present is telling: an hour of calls from witnesses before emergency crews appeared; two hours of wind pushing the fire towards the beach; and when things seemed under control, the wind shifted and the blaze got out of hand. The sprinklers ended up being activated, with a fire station just 500 metres away. The question is inevitable: if the resources were there, why was the fire allowed to grow until an evacuation was needed?

The hotel waiting on the other side of the road

The park is a 500-metre strip between the sand and a road lined with rice paddies. On the other side, the adjacent hotel complex is biding its time. The theory that it was an arson attack to unlock land for development is spreading like wildfire, although no one has provided any evidence. What is beyond doubt is the state of the land: a veritable tinderbox.

Did the park burn down by chance, or because there were interests waiting for it to burn? The smoke dissipates; the question does not.