Guardia Civil investigations have turned up that the recent fires on the Salobreña vega were the result of farmers burning cuttings.
The reason that the farmers were burning them, they explained, was so as not to attract foraging wild boars, which create a lot of damage to crops. Unfortunately, the strong winds spread the fires and the rest we know.
The first fire, as reported, was on the 23rd of February and was reported around 22.30h. Fire crews struggled to put the fire out, finally accomplishing it ten past four in the morning.
Within only ten hours, the second fire began at two in the afternoon and was not put out until ten to nine that same evening.
This second fire burnt around 3,600 square metres of land. The Motril fire service say that calculations for the extent of the first fire are still not complete.
Editorial comment: so, farmers ten hours earlier had seen that the high winds had caused a bonfire to spread uncontrollably and decided that it would be a good wheeze to light another bonfire under the same weather conditions. Off with their pods!
(News/Noticias: Salobrena, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)
I’m sorry but who in their right mind sets fire to any form of vegetation at night time in gusting winds and worse still, is investigated and sort of cleared of all blame by the very professional Guardian Civil unit, who it seems think it’s ok to have a little bonfire at night and in gusting coastal winds.
Beam me up Scotty. This world is not safe for ordinary folk.
The summer period is a big no-no for burning anything from burgers to clearing land of sugar cane, unless you’re some of the farmers in the valley behind Salobreña running up to the Lobres area then it’s two fingers from them. And it seems the local police, Guardia Rural and Civil, seem to agree! Plus, if you ring in to report the fires that can be clearly seen (as a duff speaker of Spanish) you get put through to an English speaker. You tell them the situation and where the fire is then they then put you through to (in this case) Motril Fire Dept. No inglés! They eventually tell me to contact Salobreña Policia Local. So it was give-up time. These farming types, would they be the ones that look after the water so safely? It’s Spain!
All vegetable matter should be composted which would serve to enrich the soil when rotted down. Burning should be illegal and enforced, due to the harm caused by PM, especially 2.5. What’s the point of low-emission zones with this behaviour going on?