Gallardos

The unprecedented tragedy of Los Gallardos and the district of Bédar (Almería), which has left at least eleven fatalitieshas broken all the schemes in Andalusia. It is the deadliest fire of the 21st century in Spain, leaving us with a devastating image of people who have lost their lives inside their own vehicles or a few meters from them when trying to flee down the wrong path. The UME has mobilized 150 troops and, as the hours pass, the tragedy reveals an even more bitter face: the first hypotheses suggest that the deceased could be foreign tourists. People who, in panic and not knowing the labyrinthine relief of the area, tried to escape via alternative routes, losing their orientation until they were cornered. The collapse of the system. To understand why this hell has broken out, we have to analyze this perfect storm. On July 9, 2026, the Andalusian emergency system encountered an unfathomable scenario for three fundamental reasons. Extreme simultaneity: while the flames devoured the east of Almería, at the other end of the community, in Benahavís (Málaga), an urban-forest fire forced the emergency evacuation of some 1,000 people, and with the AP-7 cut off. Having two sources of very high life risk at the same time requires dividing the air and land resources of the INFOCA Plan and the UME. Flash ignition: the origin in Los Gallardos was the fall of a power line near the N-340. The spark fell on a forest mass stressed by the very high temperatures and lack of humidity. The wind did the rest. Treacherous topography: Bédar is an area of ​​irregular relief, full of ravines, boulevards and scattered farmhouses. The fire advanced, devouring the slopes faster than a car could travel on a dirt road. The main road was blocked by smoke, forcing desperate evacuations towards Lubrín. The vision of firefighters: as extinction professionals, there are a warning that professionals have been warning for years, although we ignore when panic takes control: the car is the worst place to take refuge from a forest fire. And based on the European Automobile Commissioner (CEA)road safety specialists warn that you should never try to cross a flame front. The vast majority of fatalities in forest fires occur due to trying to save property, delaying escape or delaying evacuation. For example, Australia maintained a Stay and Defend or Leave Early policy until the devastating Black Saturday fires in 2009, which left 173 dead. It was then that the National Center for Biotechnology Information (PMC) analyzed the causes and determined new action protocols. A Molina-Terrén study of 2019 detailed that when civilians are harmed or killed, it occurs almost exclusively during evacuations that are carried out too late, when smoke already impedes visibility and radiant heat blocks escape routes, or when trying to protect agricultural assets and homes. A recent study reaffirmed this thesis. The oxygen factor. As pointed out by the services of Red Crossan engine needs oxygen to run. When the fire consumes all the oxygen in the environment, the car simply suffocates and stops. According to the firm ISK Fire Survivalwhich designs fireproof protection systems for fire trucks themselves, details how radiant heat is lethal for a standard vehicle without thermal armor: windshields can burst at temperatures above 300 ° C, leaving the passenger compartment exposed. A sixth generation fire consumes all available oxygen and expels carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen cyanide. With melted wheels, traction is lost and thick smoke reduces visibility to zero in seconds. And, since the car’s ventilation system is not airtight, it is the toxicity of the air that begins to affect the body. And when the fire corners or the car is already partially trapped, the next few seconds are critical. The order of how to act from then on is capital. Expert advice indicates: Find a clearing and park. Here the important thing is to look for the area with the least possible vegetation, stopping far from trees or dense bushes. If you can park behind a stone wall (from some old construction) or in a dirt clearing, a large open field or a plowed field, the better. Turn off the engine and block the air. That is, close the windows, turn off the air conditioning and activate air recirculation to delay the entry of toxic smoke into the passenger compartment as much as possible. It is also important to flash and turn on emergency lights to be visible. Cover yourself with natural materialsnever with plastics or synthetic fibers. A wool blanket or cotton jacket does not melt or melt as easily, so it will not cause such serious injuries. get on the ground. Literally, lying below the level of the windows, crouched under the seats, protects from the direct radiation that enters through the windows and the smoke that accumulates at the top. Don’t go out. The passage of the flame front lasts between 2 and 5 minutes. The interior of the car can withstand more than a body exposed to the elements, which means that it should only be abandoned if the fire has entered inside. Then the car becomes a trap. Images | EMA Infoca In Xataka | We thought that the worst had already happened in France, but it seems that its problems have only just begun: after the “infernal” heat comes the fire