For the last two years, members of the forest fire-fighting brigade (INFOCA) claim, they have had to make do with fewer men, vehicles and materials.

According to union member, Ángel Morales the effect of the cuts were already showing when they tackled the Mijas blaze. Furthermore, that fire broke out within the area of a lookout tower that had been closed because of the cuts.

Next to the woodland below the Generalife (Alhambra) there used to be a 3,500-litre fire truck stationed nearby but now it is locked up in the Jérez del Marquesado. Other vehicles are locked up and gathering dust in La Resinera, near the Pantano de Bermejales, amongst them the 11,000-litre mother tanker normally used to refill the 3.5k lorries.

As for personnel, 56 workers have been lopped from the payroll. The public company that manages the manpower of INFOCA is the Environmental Agency and Water, belonging to the Junta, which is at present facing an unfair dismissal court case over 17 axed jobs.

And then there are the helicopters. In Puerto Lobo they have changed a medium-sized helicopter, capable of loading 1,300 litres of water and twelve firefighters for a smaller version (Koala) which can only load 1,000 litres and carry seven personnel.

Editorial Comment: our politicians are chopping jobs for teachers, doctors and firemen, who we can’t really do without, so that they can maintain their inexcusably high number of jobs, together with their expense accounts and official cars.

(News: Province of Granada, Andalucia)