3 Hectares Of Palm Trees Cindered In Suspected Costa Blanca Arson Attack

This is the moment firefighters battle a large blaze that consumed three hectares of palm trees in the Spanish holiday resort of Costa Blanca and which locals believe was an act of arson.

The footage was filmed at a palm tree nursery in the city of Elche in the province of Alicante in the Spanish region of Valencia at around 10.30pm on 8th December.

The fire is reported to have burned for over five hours through the night until around 3am the following day when the authorities finally managed to extinguish it.

Local firemen were forced to activate a forest fire protocol given the close proximity to homes and the large amount of dry materials in the area.

The video shows firefighters battling the affected area at close quarters.

A bulldozer is later seen attempting to contain the fire with soil as the video ends.

Firefighters believe the blaze started near an agriculture museum but quickly spread to the palm tree garden due to windy conditions.

According to reports, local residents believe the fire was intentionally started by someone as similar events have occurred in the area in the past, however no further information was given.

The fire burned three hectares (7.4 acres) of land and caused damage to a nearby house, but there were no reported injuries from the incident.

An employee from the palm nursery garden named Antonio Bastida told local newspaper Nius Diario: “We had 150 palm trees ready to be transported, already sold. We lost everything.”

Bastida added: “Given the air and hours when it [the fire] occurred, someone did it, it cannot happen on its own by simple logic.”

There have been no official reports confirming it was an act of arson.

Elche is a well-known tourist town which is known for its palm trees boasting of Europe’s largest area with as many as 300,000 trees.

The Palm Grove of Elche has been considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 2000.