Benidorm Ice mountain ablaze

Benidorm firefighters battled for hours to prevent a forest fire endangering one of the resort’s top visitor attractions earlier this week.

Benidorm firefighters battled for hours to prevent a forest fire endangering one of the resort’s top visitor attractions earlier this week. The fire broke out on an elevated slope of the Sierra Gelada Mountain close to the boundary fence of the Aqualandia Water Park, at around 17.00h last Monday. Four fire tenders were initially despatched to the scene of the blaze, which began in a highly inaccessible area of the mountainous Nature park. They were accompanied by two forest ranger vehicles and an environmental specialist, using the only available access road, which leads to the Cruz de Benidorm. As the fifteen fireman began to battle the flames, four aircraft from the aerial unit were also despatched, collecting water from the sea to drop onto the burning scrubland.The blaze was classed as a Level 1 incident, by fire officials concerned with its proximity to Aqualandia and the safety of the hundreds of visitors enjoying the various rides, although evacuation of the water park was not considered necessary. As skies darkened, around four hours later at 21.00h, the fire was considered to be under control, enabling the rescue vehicles and aircraft to return to base, leaving a small number of firefighters on site to prevent any further break out of flames. At the height of the blaze, smoke from the fire could be seen from as far away as Villajoyosa, Finestrat and Altea, with videos and photos appearing almost immediately on social media networks.   by Andy Mansell