The first vice-president and Minister of Emergencies, Antonio Sanz, explained in the Andalusian Parliament that segmentation by smaller areas was not permitted by the ES-Alert system at the time of the fire, which scorched 5,200 hectares in the Almerian municipalities of Los Gallardos, Bédar, Antas, and Lubrín. The fire, declared two weeks ago, has remained under control since July 13th.
Sanz offered words of "heartfelt remembrance" for the 13 people who died and for the injured, as well as "recognition" for the emergency teams, including the Andalusian Emergency Agency, Infoca, and the Military Emergencies Unit (UME). He also thanked the mayors and councilors of the affected towns for their involvement, describing the fire as "extraordinary" due to its "propagation speed beyond all logic".
The minister expressed "prudence" regarding the causes of the fire, which are under investigation and initially point to the "fall of an electrical cable". The orography of Sierra Cabrera, with scattered dwellings and a single access road, complicated the evacuation. In this context, the mayor of Bédar opted for "direct and personalized notification" to the population, a "strictly technical" decision to protect citizens.
The opposition criticized the fire management. PSOE-A deputy Rodrigo Sánchez Haro questioned the absence of the Junta president, Juanma Moreno, in Parliament and demanded "clarity" on the chronology, operational map, and instructions given to the deceased, in addition to asking who decided against using ES-Alert.
Vox parliamentarian Rodrigo Alonso called the sending of an ES-Alert message in a "labyrinthine" area a "disaster" and attributed the fire's cause to a cable fall, denying climate change's role in its spread.
José Ignacio García, from Adelante Andalucía, also called for Moreno's presence and asked if the Junta would take legal action against those responsible for the cable fall. He criticized the minister for allegedly giving "five different versions" on why ES-Alert was not activated.
Antonio Maíllo, from Por Andalucía, advocated for an investigation committee if the causes are not clarified and criticized the "climate change denialism" of the government pact between PP-A and Vox.
In contrast to the criticism, the spokesperson for the Popular Group, Toni Martín, accused the opposition of trying to "weaken" the Andalusian government rather than seeking the truth. Minister Antonio Sanz defended that the decision on ES-Alert was supported by "experts" and "three ministers from the socialist government".
Sanz highlighted that the government of Juanma Moreno has "doubled the budget for the Infoca Plan" and created a "public emergency agency in Andalusia", rejecting accusations of insufficient commitment to the device.
