A huge column of black smoke, visible from several kilometres away, caused quite a stir among the residents of Nerja on Monday afternoon. The fire ... broke out on a plot of land near El Playazo beach, at the western end of the Axarquía municipality, where the flames damaged several prefabricated huts and a rural building.
The incident, which occurred in the early afternoon, required the mobilisation of the Malaga provincial fire service, the Local Police, the Guardia Civil and local civil protection volunteers, although no injuries were reported.
The spectacle of the smoke, which could be seen from various points in the town centre and its surroundings, caused concern among many local residents, who wondered what had caused the fire. The emergency services were dispatched to the area to tackle the flames, which affected one of the many recreational plots in the area. The incident took place on a plot near the Nerja coastline, where there are dozens of buildings and rural areas among avocado and mango plantations and greenhouses.
A shed and a rural building were damaged by a fire that brought out the fire brigade and civil protection services from Nerja
According to a statement posted on social media by the Nerja civil protection group, its volunteers were mobilised after the fire was reported and, once at the scene, worked alongside members of the Malaga provincial fire service in extinguishing the blaze. They also provided support throughout the operation. "Fortunately, there were no injuries to report, and the consequences of the fire were limited to material damage," the volunteer group stated in its summary of the incident.
The incident took place in the area around El Playazo, the longest beach in the municipality of Nerja, situated between the mouths of the Chíllar and Seco rivers. This stretch of the western coastline still features a significant number of agricultural plots and rural buildings linked to the Nerja floodplain, in contrast to other areas of the municipality's coastline, which are more heavily built-up. The presence of these agricultural areas is one of the defining features of this enclave, situated on the outskirts of the town centre. In this area, plans have been in the pipeline for almost two decades to build a seafront promenade, 1,200 homes and several hotels.
At present, neither the cause of the fire nor a financial assessment of the damage caused to the affected buildings have been disclosed. Nor has the area affected by the flames been specified. The local civil protection unit has confirmed that the operation was carried out in collaboration with the provincial fire service and that, despite the spectacular nature of the plume of smoke, the incident resulted only in material damage, with no injuries requiring medical attention.