Today, Monday, the Cabildo of Tenerife and the Ministry of Defence have initiated operation ‘Prometheus’, with military patrols set to be active in Tenerife’s mountains 24 hours a day from July 1 to September 30.
At the Hoya Fría barracks, the president of the Cabildo, Rosa Dávila; the Chief of Staff of the Canary Islands Command, Luis Cortés; and the Brigadier General and head of the XVI Canary Islands Brigade, Ricardo Esteban, unveiled the specifics of this initiative. Also in attendance were the Minister of Natural Environment, Sustainability and Security and Emergency, Blanca Pérez, along with the insular directors of Natural Environment, Pedro Millán, and Security and Emergencies, Iván Martín.
Rosa Dávila expressed her appreciation to the Ministry of Defence, all senior military officials present, as well as the Army and all the troops from the XVI Canary Brigade participating in this landmark initiative. She described it as “historic” and “unprecedented” in the Canary Islands. “Their dedication and commitment are vital to ensuring surveillance and deterrence against forest fires, particularly during the heightened summer months, and they serve as additional reinforcement to the Brifor operation by the Cabildo,” she stated.
Luis Cortés, the Chief of Staff of the Canary Islands Command, noted that the collaboration agreement with the Cabildo is now in effect, and the military patrols are “ready to fulfil the requirements of the agreement, which involve enhancing surveillance and observation in specified areas as requested by the Cabildo technicians.”
Brigadier General and head of the XVI Canary Islands Brigade, Ricardo Esteban, outlined the operation’s four key components: ground patrols with a surveillance and deterrence mandate 24 hours a day, a continuous presence in rural parts of Tenerife, an active information dissemination strategy, collaboration with the Cabildo Emergency Service and State Security Forces, and a potential extension of the operation’s duration.
Managed by the XVI Canary Islands Brigade, Operation ‘Prometheus’ consists of 32 soldiers and 14 vehicles, offering round-the-clock coverage of Tenerife’s mountains from July to September with a total of 920 patrols. The Army’s role involves not only monitoring and maintaining a visible deterrent presence but also providing crucial intelligence to firefighting services and reporting any suspicious activity to the Security Forces.
Operation ‘Prometheus’ involves coordination between the over 600 professionals in the Cabildo’s Brifor Operation, including Tenerife Firefighters Consortium personnel, to collectively safeguard Tenerife, particularly its mid-range areas, which account for 25% of the island’s territory. Equipped with advanced technology like GPS devices, digital mapping, and Tetra media, Operation Prometheus will be under constant monitoring.
