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ISSUE NO. 1505
No piracy OUT-OF-TOWN taxi drivers may pick up passengers at Alicante airport only six times a month, the regional government has ruled.
Promising start THE ‘ice-cream season’ which traditionally starts on March 19 began well, thanks to good weather. If it continues, local manufacturers expect to exceed 2013’s turnover of €250 million.
Take it easy THERE were 85 days of parliamentary activity in the Valencian Community between September and the end of April. Regional MPs had 189 per cent more free days than schoolchildren.
New jobs BENIDORM is negotiating with the regional government to build a technology park adjoining Terra Mitica. Using private money, it would attract businesses and create 5,000 jobs, the town hall said.
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Fire that devastated the Montgo was ‘deliberate’ A FOREST fire in the Montgo national park in Denia has devastated almost 40 hectares of land. A party of four British walkers had to be led to safety after the fire cut off their route down from Montgo. They phoned the emergency services who guided them to a different route. Up to 50 residents were evacuated due to the choking smoke, although no one was hurt. The blaze, which broke out in Jesus Pobre, took 24 hours to extinguish and was almost certainly deliberate. Firefighters and aircraft had to continue dampening down the smouldering area the following day to prevent the strong Poniente winds from rekindling the flames. Residents in the adjoining area were evacuated from their homes although they were endangered less by
Credit: photo by Tom Miller.
EWN FRONT EXTRA
8 - 14 MAY 2014
the flames than the thick smoke which was blowing in their direction. No homes were materially damaged but although the 50 or so householders were informed that they could return home later that night, many preferred to stay elsewhere with family or friends.
Owing to the continuing drought, Alicante Province is still on the maximum level of alert with a ban on anything posing a fire risk. Early rumours that the Montgo blaze was caused by a barbecue were immediately dismissed by Serafin Castellano, head of the regional
government’s Interior Department. Subsequent investigations by the Guardia Civil’s nature protection unit, Seprona, and the Regional Environment Department confirmed that the fire had been started deliberately. An examination of the area where the fire began
revealed evidence of accelerant chemicals, Seprona officers said.