A forest fire which swept quickly through the Roca Llisa area of Ibiza on Sunday and Monday has now been brought under control and virtually extinguished.
It started on Sunday afternoon in the Sol de'n Serra area to the north west of Cala Llonga and was fanned away from the resort by strong winds along the coastal area – a posh residential area with many holiday homes – running parallel to the golf course.
Fire fighters were quickly on the scene, assisted by planes and helicopters from the emergency services and military. Around 1000 people were evacuated from the area and roads were closed to prevent access to the affected area.
Details are still sketchy but it seems that only one house was destroyed and a few others damaged but the majority of the fire's destructive power was vented on around 115 hectares of pine forest.
Specialists from the fire service and Guardia Civil are already almost 100% sure that the conflagration was caused by negligence – probably a barbecue – as the way in which the fire started and spread was entirely different to a 'natural' fire.
As we've already stressed in our past news items, after over 3 months of completely dry, hot weather, Ibiza's forests are tinder dry and great care must be taken.
Our local paper the Diario de Ibiza has a couple of galleries online – their own photos, and photos from readers, check them out.