Wildfires rip through Marbella forcing 40 villas to be evacuated on the Costa del Sol

Wildfires rip through Marbella forcing 40 villas to be evacuated on the Costa del Sol

  • Wildfires caused the evacuation of 40 villas in the Costa del Sol Thursday night 
  • Seventy firefighters doused flames around the town and its main roads
  • One resident was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation after it began at 8.20pm
  • Firemen remained this morning after the inferno had been brought under control

Wildfires raged through Marbella last night forcing residents to flee 40 villas as firemen tackled the blaze.

Emergency services rushed to the Costa Del Sol resort at around 8.20pm on Thursday where leaping flames covered the horizon in the Bello Horizonte area.

Seventy firefighters spent the night dousing the inferno which ripped across shrubbery close to the AP-7 motorway and other major arteries.

Wildfires rage across the countryside on Thursday night in the area Altos de Marbella, near of AP-7 highway in the town of Marbella, Costa del Sol

Residents look on from the hilltop as smoke and flames leapt across the horizon in the Bello Horizonte area

Residents look on from the hilltop as smoke and flames leapt across the horizon in the Bello Horizonte area

Flames and thick black smoke spew into the evening sky on Thursday. Seventy firefighters were drafted in to tackle the blaze

Flames and thick black smoke spew into the evening sky on Thursday. Seventy firefighters were drafted in to tackle the blaze

The police said one person had been taken to hospital for smoke inhalation after 40 of the 100 homes in the Bello Horizonte area were evacuated

By this morning the fire had been brought under control after it was largely impeded by the lack of foliage in the area and a motocross track which acted as a barrier, Olive Press reported.

Five fire engine pumps were used to extinguish the blaze and a total of 125 troops from the National Police Corps and Civil Guard were mobilised.

Mayor Angeles Munoz tweeted: ‘I appreciate the immense work that the municipal security forces are doing to put out the fire.’ 

The fire came perilously close to the motorway

The fire beside the AP-7 motorway in Marbella

Motorists captured pictures of the fire wreaking havoc close to the AP-7 motorway in Marbella

A streak of yellow flames rips across shrubbery beside the AP-7 motorway in Marbella last night

A streak of yellow flames rips across shrubbery beside the AP-7 motorway in Marbella last night

The fire came just days after a massive evacuation of 500 homes in neighbouring Estepona where a fire devastated 200 acres of land on Monday.

A French citizen has been arrested for allegedly starting the Estepona fire on Monday morning.

That fire was not brought under control until Wednesday, 20 Minutos reported. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk