It was last October that a farmer in Los Guájares was acquitted for having caused a forest fire through negligence.

He was acquitted because the appeals judge considered that the man had taken all the necessary precautions when lighting the fire to burn cut branches and that he possessed written permission to burn the said cuttings.

Originally, he had been sentenced to pay a fine of 1,620 euros for “not having adopted sufficient safety measures.” He had not made sure that the fire was within a diametre of 4-metres clear of vegetation and had not kept an eye on the bonfire.

The forest fire was reported at 14.10h on the 15th of February, 2017 and was not declared extinguish until 16.55h that same day. The fire had affected 420 sq/m of land. The costs of tackling the fire were calculated at 3,500 euros, which the Junta wanted to charge the accused.

The appeals judge, however, considers that it was the wind that caused the fire to reignite and spread to the wooded area. Furthermore the judge considers that it has not been proven beyond all doubt that the man had indeed taken all precautions to make sure that the fire was out before leaving it.

The fact is that the fire did not spring up again until two days after the man had lit the bonfire and that in between it had even rained.

(News: Los Guájares, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)