Call out charge: €3000......

Earlier today, 6pm, I was  just squeezing the last of the pomegranates for juice and my mobile rang.



It was Connie, our neighbour, to say there was a fire behind the cortijo of Miguel,  which is at the top of Montenegro near the fuente.  Micha, their son Ringo and the driver of the Cat were on their way up to try and beat out some of the flames while waiting for the Bomberos to arrive.



I grabbed the camera and ran, John grabbed the video and locked up, by the time I'd reached the ermita (chapel) the  helicopter was coming in,  to land next to the cortijos there  - to start with I thought I'd better wait till they'd lifted off - but then decided to try for a photo of them attaching the water bucket.   I ran again through the dust the blades were churning up and got some pictures.  Five or six of the bomberos walked up to the fire and I  carried on up to the path that leads to Miguel's and  ran across the land to see where the fires were.  There were quite a few areas, I could see Micha and Ringo and then the helicopter was coming in behind me, coming  for it's first run to dump water on the flames.  I got a bit damp from the spray!



The Medio Ambiente (environment guys) were next on the scene wanting to know where the access was - sorry, no vehicle access, only on foot!   So they parked, and walked up assessing the extent of the fire.  Then the helicopter returned again and again, dropping more and more  water on the burning bushes. 



After what seemed a long time but was less than an hour,  the fires seemed to be smoking rather than flaming and under control.  The helicopter landed to pick up  the  bomberos  and went back to it's base, leaving the Medio Ambiente guys up on the hillside.

Here is a video of the action in Montenegro, this evening . . . . .






Almost an hour later,  I came in to look at the photos I'd taken, when Monty and Pip started barking.   I  heard  a rumble outside and going past was a fire truck from Cadiar.

Now, the fire station in Cadiar is a recent addition,  the Cat has only just this afternoon finished widening and levelling the basis for our new road - what a day to need the fire truck!!