Carolina Toste’s phone number, Councilor for Security of the City of Los Realejoshas rung between 04:00 and 04:30 in the morning in twice in the last 48 hours. The reason has been the same, the existence of an outbreak of fire in Los Realejos. The same municipality that was hit by fire last summer suffers from this again nine months later. Is there an arsonist in the area?
Last Wednesday, in the Barranco del Dornajo, in Icod el Alto, the firefighters and agents of the Local Police and the Brifor went to put out a fire. Neighbors had alerted to the existence of fire around 04:00. It is true that high temperatures were presented as a key factor, but Pedro Martín, president of the Island Council, recognized on Canarias Radio that the fire did not appear to have “occurred naturally”.
Suffocated and controlled, another call, at the same time, just 48 hours later, woke up Carolina Toste. It was, once again, the Local Police: “The head of the Los Realejos Local Police informed the mayor and me that, once again, there is an outbreak of fire in Icod el Alto, so we get going in case it is necessary evacuate people from their homes, find out if it can affect livestock”.
The fire last morning started between the Camino de La Pared and the Lomo de Castro, about three kilometers from the previous fire. “It was in an area of orchards and not mountains and the rapid coordination of emergency services was key,” reveals Toste, who acknowledges that they are “very concerned” about the situation.
At the moment, the authorities are investigating what happened and the Los Realejos City Council will convene a security meeting to clarify what happened: “There have been two attempts, in the same area, very closely and we want to find out what has happened as soon as possible. We have doubts, some suspicions, but we need to clarify the matter”.
The main challenge, as Carolina Toste herself acknowledges, is to find out “what is happening between 04:00 and 04:30” in that area of Los Realejos, hit by fire. For the moment, both attempts have been controlled quickly, but the memory of what happened last year, the shadow of possible intentionality is too long.
“I am once again sending a message of caution to the public, whom we thank for calling the Local Police so quickly. Taking extreme precautions is, now, more important than ever”, emphasizes Carolina Toste.
