POLICE HUNT ARSONISTS

Fire fighters working throughout the night had the fire under control by 1.20am but they remained on sight until first light putting out the remaining flames and waiting for one final blast from the helicopters and fire fighter planes.

At least 32 hectares of land had been torched by the blaze which started at 2.30pm on Thursday.
70 members
Over 70 members of the fire and emergency services battled the blaze on the ground while, as many people living in and around Calvia will have witnessed, the fire was continuously bombarded with water from the air throughout the day until night fall. Extra aerial and military ground support was even flown in from Valencia because the raging fire threatened a vast expanse of virgin countryside and a residential area - 17 families, many of them expatriates were evacuated for most of the day.

Early yesterday afternoon, some 24 hours after the fire broke out, or was possibly started on purpose as the police are increasingly suspecting, a few puffs of smoke could still be seen, but for the most part it was just steam.

A number of fire fighting units remained at the scene as a precaution while some of their colleagues headed off to tackle a fire in Santa Margalida.
Minister suspicious
The Minister for the Environment, Biel Company, believes that there are too many coincidences between some of the fires this year hence the police are suspicious and are channeling all their efforts into establishing if this current spate of fires is the result of arson and if so, catching the culprit or culprits to avert a major disaster.

According to Company, many of the recent fires are being started at about the same time, early afternoon, and in similar areas.
For example, yesterday's fire between Santa Margalida and Son Serra de Marina is in the same area where 370 hectares of land were destroyed by fire in July.

Yesterday, the security services made a public plea for anyone to report anything suspicious and temperatures continue to remain high and conditions dry.