A deputy mayor in inland Malaga is being investigated over a major wildfire that forced the confinement of 4,000 people and the evacuation of 162.
It is believed the blaze in the Axarquia region in July began after welding work was carried out at the entrance to a municipal recycling site, despite an alert of extreme fire risk.
The first deputy mayor of Archez is now suspected of gross negligence in connection with the inferno.
The councillor was questioned by the Guardia Civil on September 23 and was later released.
Sources close to the investigation described him as having been arrested before appearing before a judge.
However, Archez Town Hall disputes that account. Municipal sources said the councillor had merely been summoned to give a statement over an ‘order’ allegedly issued for work before the fire.
They stressed that he was not handcuffed or placed in police cells.
The judicial investigation will now determine whether there is sufficient evidence to continue proceedings and whether any criminal responsibility can be attributed.
The fire started close to Archez’s recycling site, in the Barranco de la Fuente area on July 17.
Strong winds and difficult terrain helped the flames spread towards neighbouring Competa, Canillas de Albaida and surrounding rural properties.
Authorities ordered the approximately 4,400 residents of Competa to remain inside for more than five hours, closing doors and windows to protect themselves from smoke.
A further 162 people were evacuated from scattered rural homes in El Atajo, Loma de Archez, Las Zorreras and other nearby areas.
The Junta de Andalucia raised the emergency to level one at 2.52pm, while Archez and Canillas de Albaida activated their municipal wildfire emergency plans.
The A-7206 road connecting Competa with the N-340 via Algarrobo was closed between kilometres zero and three.
Residents and visitors were urged not to approach the area and to follow instructions from emergency personnel.
The blaze was stabilised shortly before midnight and later fully extinguished.
Although no injuries were reported, it caused extensive damage to agricultural land around Competa.
Mayor Rosa Luz Fernandez said the fire came within approximately one metre of the urban centre.
More than 10,000 avocado trees and several vineyards were reportedly destroyed, with estimated agricultural losses approaching €2million.
Irrigation infrastructure was also damaged, while firefighters and residents cut water pipes in an effort to prevent the flames from reaching the town.
The Guardia Civil investigation is now focusing on activity carried out near the point where the fire is believed to have started.
Officers are reportedly examining whether the council authorised work involving welding or another tool capable of producing sparks at the recycling site.
Such work would have been conducted during the highest-risk period of Andalucia’s wildfire season.
The councillor’s alleged role has not been established, and no conviction or formal finding of responsibility has been made.
Archez Town Hall maintains that he attended voluntarily with a lawyer and was treated in the same way as other council workers and local residents called to give evidence.
The investigation continues.
