Montgo regeneration problems

Credit Piotr Azia

The Montgo wild fire threatened numerous homes and took a number of days for fire fighters to get under control

A year after a wild fire destroyed 444 hectares of forest area on the iconic Montgo Mountain in Denia, Alicante, there has been little regeneration. The plague of the pine beetle, that bores its way through the trees to lay its eggs and dry weather leading to soil erosion, is said to be to blame for the slow recovery of the protected area, thus prolonging the natural disaster.

The fire broke out on September 11 shortly after 4pm however the cause remains a mystery. More than 1,400 residents were evacuated at the time with the fire threatening a number of homes as strong winds and the presence of dead trees helped the fire spread down the mountain. The temperature of the fire, aided by the dry ground conditions was said to have reached in excess of 2,000 degrees, literally burning the ground through to the roots, which has resulted in some areas still appearing blackened and scorched, very much unchanged from the days after the fire.

On the Javea side of the mountain, the Town Hall has acted by planting Olive trees, an endemic species, that have already started off strongly. The hopes are that this species will dominate in the new forest and will not provide as many issues as the pine trees did.

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