From the 1st of June until the 15th of October the fire restrictions etc in the countryside are in force.
The forest fire-fighting body, Infoca, will have their work cut out for them like every summer, putting out mountain fires caused, more often than not, through stupidity and irresponsibility in general.
The province counts on a contingent of 696 firefighters, drivers, pilots and staff. The 23.2m-euro annual budget is divided into 11.2m euros for actually having the means to put out the fires, whilst the other 12m euros goes on preventing fires; i.e., cutting firebreaks, eradicating excessive roadside vegetation and thinning out undergrowth in woodlands, for example – all of which is done during the winter and spring.
It’s worth remembering that thanks to these prevention tasks and well rehearsed coordination, over 80% of the fires during the year are caught before they can take hold; i.e., in the first crucial hours.
To get an idea about how much prevention work is carried out, between the 6th of October and the 31st of May, 2,138 hectares were cleared of undergrowth, 1.043 in woodlands and alongside roads and another 1,095 hectares of firebreaks.
In this second category, the firefighters have a little help – 41 goat herders are employed to graze their flocks on the firebreaks. And we have a lot of firebreaks as they stretch for 548 kilometres!
So what about fire-fighting vehicles and equipment? Well, there is one command aircraft which operates out of Granada airport. There’s a mono-wing water-bomber (Skytractor) and a helicopter in Resinera de Arenas del Rey, and one helicopter each for the Puerto Lobo-Viznar, Tablones (Órgiva) and Moralillos de Jérez del Marquesado fire-fighting bases.
The Granada-Province Infoca section has 180 vehicles for transport (mostly Land Rovers) 18 fire-trucks, three of which are water tankers, each carrying 11,000 litres of water.
On a closing note, 84% of mountain-woodland fires are caused by man; fruit of negligence or arson. You can do your bit to help maintain our countryside green and counterbalance the stupidity and malice of others: phone 112 at the first sign of smoke in the mountains and woodlands.
(News: Granada, Andalucia)