The Tenerife Island Council and the Ministry of Defense have signed a collaboration agreement today to improve environmental and territorial protection, as well as civil security on the island during the 2024 fire season.
The event was attended by the President of the Tenerife Island Council, Rosa Dávila; the Director-General of Defence Policy, Fernando López del Pozo; the Chief General of the Canary Islands, Julio Salom Herrera, and the Chief of Staff of the Canary Islands Command, Luis Cortés Delgado.
Rosa Dávila stated that this is “a historic event, unprecedented in the Canary Islands and the second agreement signed by the Ministry of Defense throughout Spain with the aim of preventing forest fires.”
The Operational team, named ‘Prometheus’, will deploy ten daily land patrols to form a total of 920 patrols throughout the campaign, providing 24-hour coverage to the mountains of Tenerife in the most critical months of July, August, and September.
Furthermore, Rosa Dávila added that today is “an important day for Tenerife, for the safety of those living in Tenerife and for the protection of our natural environment.” “Thanks to this agreement, we will significantly reinforce the Brifor Operation that we have launched for the 2024 fire season.”
She also pointed out that the Army’s mission “will not only be to monitor and maintain a deterrent presence, but also to provide crucial information to firefighting services and alert the security forces about any suspicious activity, considering that the vast majority of fires are caused by human activities, whether intentional or negligent.”
In this sense, military patrols will operate in the most vulnerable areas of Tenerife and also contribute, in the event of a fire, to ensuring the safety of individuals, families, and their properties through an effective and coordinated operation.
On the other hand, the Director-General of Defence Policy, Fernando López del Pozo, stated that signing this collaboration agreement “is one of the objectives of Spain’s defense policy, which is none other than protecting society.” “This agreement gives us a golden opportunity to put this idea into practice, which ultimately always aims to benefit the citizens,” he added.
“This agreement will allow us to patrol the island of Tenerife in close collaboration with the residents of Tenerife, with the forces of the Canary Islands Command, joining forces with specialists in the field and working towards preventing these fires. We want to help eradicate this scourge that ultimately affects the environment, properties, and, worse still, people’s lives,” he added.
“We will give our best effort, and we hope that by the end of the summer, we will be able to celebrate because the measure has been effective and because the troops’ efforts in patrolling will be worthwhile, ultimately achieving our goal. We must enhance defence awareness, and this agreement allows us to strengthen ties with society, which is another one of our objectives,” López del Pozo stated.
Surveillance and deterrence
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The Ministry of Defence will deploy a operational land patrols and, if necessary, other capabilities, with the mission of surveillance and deterrence from 1st July to 30th September, inclusive. The preferred surveillance and intervention area for land patrols will initially cover the entire interface area surrounding the forested Protected Natural Spaces susceptible to forest fires on the island of Tenerife.
The Armed Forces will establish the necessary command posts to exercise command and control over the land patrols and other capabilities and will assign liaison officers to various committees and coordination centres when their presence is required. The activation will involve the deployment of 10 daily ground patrols, a mobile maintenance team, and the necessary elements for command and control, belonging to the Army.
The Tenerife Island Council will provide each land patrol with a suitable GPS device with updated digital maps for movement in forested terrain and a TETRA communication device to ensure connectivity.
