Agents of Formentera's fire brigade and Ibanat, the Balearic forest service, put out a nascent wildfire at kilometre marker 11 of the highway linking la Savina with la Mola.

Notice of the roadside fire, apparently the result of a cigarette end which was tossed aside while still alight, came through at 5.07pm. Luckily, two factors —the fast-acting individual who called in the tip and the swift response of emergency services— converged to ensure the blaze was limited to one square metre of brush on the highway shoulder.

Two firefighters and another pair of Ibanat agents arrived on the scene with two rapid-response vehicles and brought the flames under control by 5.28pm.

Taking the opportunity to remind islanders of the risk that improperly extinguished cigarettes can pose, the fire brigade urged smokers and motorists alike to be especially vigilant. Sprawling vegetation this spring is the result of an especially wet winter. Today, with brush left dissecated by succeeding bouts of hot weather, the risk of wildfires is especially high.