SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 20 Jan. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Ministry of Ecological Transition, Fight against Climate Change and Territorial Planning of the Government of the Canary Islands has increased throughout this legislature the public funds allocated to the Forest Fire Intervention and Reinforcement Teams (EIRIF), thanks to what it has been able to expand its workforce, improve its individual protection uniforms and incorporate material and means that increase its operability on the ground.
The presentation of these improvements in equipment and personnel was chaired by the President of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, and was attended by the Minister of the Presidency, Relations with the Courts and Democratic Memory, Félix Bolaños; the president of the Cabildo de La Palma, Mariano Hernández Zapata; the mayor of Breña Alta, Jonathan de Felipe, and the regional councilor for Ecological Transition, José Antonio Valbuena, and the deputy councilor for the Fight against Climate Change and Ecological Transition, Miguel Ángel Pérez.
Ángel Víctor Torres highlighted in the act that in the current regional mandate it has been possible to extend the work period of these units from six months of 2018 to 365 days, throughout the year, starting in 2020. In addition, have increased the budgets of these teams from 2 million euros in 2019 to 10.2 million in the 2023 Regional Budget. “This circumstance has allowed the number of troops to be raised from 83 to 125, and to implement means and specialized vehicles,” added Torres.
The President of the Canary Islands, during his speech at the EIRIF base in La Palma, recalled the great work carried out by the EIRIF during the emergency caused by the volcanic eruption of Cumbre Vieja, in which they collaborated with vital tasks such as the removal of ash in the accesses and urban spaces, technical support to the Advanced Command Post or accompanying individuals to exclusion zones for the removal of personal belongings.
15 NEW OFF-ROAD VEHICLES
From now on, the EIRIF will have two new forestry pumping vehicles, with a water capacity of 3,900 liters, with services adapted to the island territory and with established work protocols that implement important operational improvements, provide more autonomy to the troops and suppose an important reinforcement of security during any intervention. These will be joined by 15 light all-terrain intervention vehicles, and three multifunctional trucks for prevention forestry work, also acquired in this legislature.
In addition, the work uniforms have been renewed to improve the safety, comfort and protection of the team members against any forest fire, increasing the high visibility surface of these garments and replacing the intervention helmets with a better model. characteristics.
Likewise, two light helicopters will be hired to provide rapid transport of the EIRIF to any island, direct release of water in forest fires and real-time image capture. In this way, response times will be minimized and access to work areas will be facilitated. This aspect is of special relevance since it significantly increases the mobilization and intervention capacity of the EIRIFs.
Lastly, and among other novelties, portable weather stations and a fleet of ten drones have been purchased to increase security management capabilities during field interventions. These teams will greatly facilitate the planning of silvicultural treatments or restoration tasks in affected areas.
The EIRIF are specialized heliborne units based on La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro that have been created by the Government of the Canary Islands to support the island media in the fight against forest fires. They have supra-insular acting capacity and came into operation for the first time in 2017.
