The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is seeking a five-year prison term for a man accused of starting a forest fire in the upper area of Los Realejos, which was promptly contained by the firefighting team.
The prosecution also demands the accused to compensate the Cabildo of Tenerife with 35,000 euros; the island’s firefighters with 4,200 euros; and the Government of the Canary Islands with 1,700 euros.
If convicted, the accused is required to cover the expenses incurred in restoring the environmental damage caused by the fire.
The trial is scheduled to span three days next week, with the defendant facing charges of a serious arson offence.
Previously, the man had served a one-year prison sentence for the same offence and was banned from the fire site for two years.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the defendant allegedly entered an abandoned agricultural property armed with a lighter in July 2023 and set fire to the abundant vegetation present, causing the flames to quickly spread.
Factors such as intense heat, low humidity levels of 3%, and a 90% probability of combustion contributed to the fire’s rapid spread into the nearby Los Dornajos ravine, which was surrounded by sugarcane fields.
The fire also engulfed an agricultural facility, necessitating the evacuation of livestock housed inside.
At that time, a maximum fire alert was in effect, leading to specific fire prevention measures being implemented by the General Security and Emergencies Directorate of the Government of the Canary Islands.
Local residents alerted authorities and emergency services minutes after the fire broke out, leading to a timely response that averted damage to approximately 27 homes in the vicinity within the initial hours.
The burned area encompassed 26,000 square meters of vegetation, including ferns and brambles, posing a risk to the forest mass of the Protected Natural Space of the Forest Crown less than half a kilometre away. The environmental damage’s exact value remains unquantified, with no claims for compensation reported by affected property owners.
The accused, as per the prosecution, possesses a low IQ that does not impair his intelligence or volition. Authorities found multiple potential fire-causing items in his residence, such as lighters, candles, toilet paper, and methanol cans.
Following his arrest, the accused has been in custody without bail.
