ARCHIVED - Guardia Civil investigation underway to clarify cause of fire in Torrevieja Lagunas de la Mata park
20 hectares of vegetation was badly burnt during the blaze on the Torrevieja border
The Guardia Civíl is working on the hypothesis that the fire which destroyed just under 20 hectares of vegetative growth around the Parque Natural Lagunas de la Mata at the weekend, was started intentionally.
The fire was first reported just after 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and affected 20 hectares of salt marsh vegetation, reed beds and scrubland on the northwest shore of the Torrevieja lagoon, within the natural park.
Investigators have found two separate focal points for the fire, greatly increasing the chances that the fire was started intentionally by a person or persons currently unidentified.
Police have been carrying out door-to-door investigations talking to residents living near to the lagoon, a popular walking and birdwatching area, with the saltwater Salinas at their centre.
Three crews from the Alicante Provincial Firefighters Consortium, four forest firefighters units of the regional government, one helicopter and a forestry coordinator, two airborne units and two fire trucks, an environmental agent and a Prevention Unit and Police from Elche all attended the call.
By the early hours of Sunday morning the visible flames had all been extinguished and damping down work began; by 3p.m. on Sunday afternoon the fire was declared fully extinguished and the extent of the damage could be clearly assessed by environmental officers from the council and regional government.