SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Nov. 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Cabildo of Tenerife, through the area of Natural Environment, Sustainability and Safety and Emergencies, has contracted the most urgent works of the restoration of the fire last August to be carried out between September 2023 and June 2024 with a total of 22 companies and an investment of 7.5 million euros. In addition, the insular Corporation will invest 29 million euros between 2024 and 2026 through a multi-annual framework for Monteverde recovery work and actions against the risk of falling trees and landslides and the risk of erosion.
The president of the Cabildo, Rosa Dávila; the vice president, Lope Afonso, and the counselor of Natural Environment, Sustainability and Security and Emergencies, Blanca Pérez; and the insular director of the Natural Environment, Pedro Millán, visited several affected areas today, Monday, to check the work that is being carried out. During the visit they were accompanied by technicians Pedro Martínez, Eva Padrón, Adela Conde, Bernabé Gutiérrez and Pablo Pascual.
Rosa Dávila pointed out the importance of undertaking the work to guarantee the safety of people: “As we have seen, there is a danger of falling trees and branches and also areas with affected soil and that is why it is necessary for the population to respect and follow the instructions what we do to them.” In addition, he pointed out that the fire affected many specimens of radiata pine – an introduced species -, “which will allow us to replace it with native species of Monteverde and Canarian pine. We had already planned to replace these specimens, but the fire has The fact is that we have to do it immediately to avoid the risk.
For his part, Lope Afonso pointed out that the objective of the Cabildo “is that people can use the mountains safely” and recommended following the instructions “through official media and the Cabildo’s Tenerife-ON application, which is designed for the use and enjoyment of the natural spaces of the island”.
The urgent works that are currently being carried out are actions against the risk of trees falling on people and vehicles and actions against the risk of erosion in the basins. Thus, they were able to see how the work of cutting and eliminating the radiata pine is carried out and the action on Monteverde with the construction of strips to reduce damage from runoff and soil retention.
Actions against the risk of trees falling on people and vehicles involve cutting those feet susceptible to falling, mainly exotic species that do not have the capacity to resprout (mainly radiata pine). They will be eliminated mainly at the edge of the runway or where they may roll on them, creating a risk for mountain users. Action will also be taken in those areas where the fall or felling of these trees can produce intense erosive effects that could affect the population due to soil loss. In these cases, fascias will be built to prevent erosion in these areas. This action requires specific forestry machinery and the public company Tragsa has been contracted for this purpose.
For its part, actions against the risk of erosion in the basins include direct and indirect actions. Directly, by creating a protective layer or mulching. Thus, they will be carried out with the incorporation of crushed plant remains that will come from felling, police felling, clearing and resurfacing or by recovering the plant cover, in this case, with sowing and plantations or favoring the regrowth of the vine through resurfacing.
The indirect actions consist of reducing the speed and erosive capacity of the runoff. Thus, it will be executed with part of the remains obtained and other materials, preferably natural. In addition, soft hydrotechnics will be carried out, which consist of making fascines with material from the fire to prevent erosion on slopes and the construction of embankments in streams and gullies with material from the fire or stones from the ground. Reinforced strips made up of remains of waste from the slopes and resurfacing carried out in the affected area will also be executed and the existing voids in the vicinity and edges of the slopes caused by cracking and stump removal will be filled with stone.
Likewise, gullies will be filled, both upstream and downstream of the runway, to stop the effect of runoff water. In addition, formations will be made of rows of stones placed transversally in abandoned lanes and in shallow gullies located upstream of the tracks through which water flows without brakes. The actions are completed with dry masonry breakwaters, masonry dikes (gavionada or other techniques) and naturalized stone beds.
In these actions, a total of nine companies have been contracted, which are mainly carrying out cuttings in highly affected areas of Monteverde, using the cut remains to make fascines, which are structures transversal to the slope that slow down the speed of the water when it passes. on them and retain part of the eroded soil.
On the other hand, in addition to the urgent actions described, the Cabildo is carrying out actions in areas at risk of landslides and mass movements and installation of barriers to retain debris and stabilization of channels along the forest paths. The Natural Environment staff is also working on the construction of infrastructure to protect forest trails and carrying out actions on trails and recreational areas and to repair the hydraulic networks for extinguishing forest fires affected by the fire. All of this is completed with technical work such as the generation of a new orthophoto of the burned areas, project writing, technical direction and management and health and safety support.
