Prepared and trained to act before a fire in the mountains, whatever dimensions you have. It is the declaration of the 311 troops who will work in Tenerife this summer as part of the operation to fight forest fires. The President of the Council, Peter Martin, values the expansion in prevention, control and extinction from four to eight months a year, now between February and December. But it is in this summer season when the device responds to the maximum alert to limit the option of attempts in the protected spaces of the Island. The main novelties of this year’s campaign are the premiere of three support drones, worth 15,000 euros, and a space to collect water within the plant mass in Chivisaya, in the heights of Candelaria.
The island president and the Minister for Natural Environment and Security, Isabel García, present the 2022 operation together with José María Sánchez Linaje, head of the Cabildo’s Forest Fire and Associated Media Operational Unit. The global budget is 3,408,777 euros.
Martin remembers: «We have put into operation since April teams that carry out preliminary work, with actions on possible forest fuel». The intention is to reduce risks in the hot months. The president points out that “the campaign will last another two months, almost until the end of the year.” The budget “has increased more than 120 percent since 2019, when this government team took office.” So there were 1.8 million.
“Tenerife is ready and for us summer lasts eight months”
budget increase
“The investment in the reinforcement of the Brifor operation has increased by 47.19% (350,000 euros) compared to 2021,” says the president, who adds that “this has allowed us to have 140 reinforcement people during the months of maximum risk and another 70 –contracted from April to June and from October to December–, dedicated to preventive forestry work that is activated in case of fire»
The counselor assesses: “We have promoted an active policy against forest fires by renewing the fleet of light vehicles, with 22 new units since then and another seven this year and a total investment of 688,000 euros.” He adds that “we have underway the renewal of heavy vehicles for the 2023 campaign, for an amount of 1,842,540 euros.” He recalls that the service vehicles are obsolete, “with many years of operation, a minimum of 17, and it is a commitment of the Cabildo to replace them, not only for the safety of the Island, but also of the workers.”
The councilor explains that “the strategy to deal with this season of fire risk is based on three pillars: prevention, coordination and recovery of agricultural land. She concludes: “All these resources are necessary, but the responsibility of all the people who live on this Island is essential.”
«The strategy has three pillars: prevention, coordination and soil recovery»
Material resources
To the human device are added two helicopters based on the Tenerife South airport; three drones with thermal and visual cameras; three mother pumpers with a capacity of 9,000 liters, 14 forestry trucks with between 3,500 and 5,000 liters; two medium-sized 1,800-liter pumpers; 30 light pick-ups of 500 liters; a Forward Command Post vehicle and 29 transport SUVs.
To the own means must be added the availability during the period of risk of others from the Government of the Canary Islands, made up of five GES multifunction helicopters and the rapid intervention teams (EIRIF) in each of the smaller islands, equipped this year with light fire trucks.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food also offers the availability of a Kamov K-32 helicopter (heavy bomber of 5000l) based in Tenerife South, the Brif of Puntagorda and a cargo plane on the ground (Air Tractor of 3200l) at the airport from La Gomera. And the Military Emergency Unit (UME).
“We all learned from the peri-urban fires of 2020, a unique experience”
An experience
José María Sánchez states that “this is a normal and even favorable hydrological year in the north where today (yesterday) it is raining.”
Notes that “The southern and western slopes are drier and a fire can always break out.”
Sánchez recalls the experience of February 2020, when interface fires, peri-urban, occurred in several municipalities in the north. He describes it as “something unique, that had never happened before and has not happened again since due to the heat wave and very windy conditions.” He values that “we could not do anything unless the meteorological factors changed.” Sánchez concludes: «We have learned from that».
It is corroborated by the president and the counselor who agree on “the formation of the civil protections of the municipalities and of the volunteer firefighters, the closest in case something like this is repeated and the best distributed in the geography.” The Island is designed to fight fires in three regional areas with nine points as an operational base.
