The president of Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, will ask the Fecai for a legal modification so that the councils can mobilize the UME
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Aug. 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Cabildo de Tenerife has approved this Wednesday to start the procedure for the declaration of the island as an area seriously affected by a civil protection emergency -commonly known as a catastrophic area- due to the fire that started on August 15.
The president of the Cabildo, Rosa Dávila; The Vice President, Lope Afonso, and the Minister of the Presidency, Administration and Public Service, Territorial Planning and Historical Heritage, José Miguel Ruano, offered a press conference on Wednesday to report on the agreement of the Governing Council.
Rosa Dávila indicated that it has been agreed to start this procedure “so that once the fire is over, the aid established by law can be received as soon as possible.”
Likewise, the Governing Council agreed to hold an extraordinary plenary session, the meeting of the board of trustees of the Teide National Park and Protected Natural Areas and the creation of a damage monitoring and evaluation commission in which the affected municipalities will be present. for the fire.
In addition, city councils are urged to promote the evaluation of damages produced in the field of municipal facilities or services, as well as the expenses derived from actions that cannot be postponed derived from it.
“Fortunately, to this day we have no evidence that it has affected homes, although it did affect some tool rooms and livestock and beekeeping facilities. And it is worrying that it has affected some 10,000 hectares of the Corona Forestal Natural Park and 2,300 hectares of the Teide National Park,” he said.
IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO LA RETAMA DEL TEIDE
In this sense, he pointed out that the Canarian pine “is a resistant species and will reappear, but the Teide broom takes 25 years to recover, it is almost irreparable environmental damage,” Dávila stressed.
The president of the Cabildo reiterated her gratitude to all the people who are fighting to fight the fire, which is still not under control, as well as the solidarity of many people and companies that are collaborating: “Tenerife has not given up, it has not lowered its arms and We are going to continue working to put out the fire.”
Rosa Dávila also pointed out that she will propose at the meeting of the Canary Islands Federation (Fecai) to make “some changes” and transfer them to the Government of Spain in aspects that seem “important to change in the management of emergencies.”
For example, he remarked, “the direction of extinction is being carried out by the Cabildo de Tenerife and the law states that in order to activate the Military Emergency Unit (UME) it is necessary for the emergency to be at level 2.”
“I think that in the Canary Islands we could have a level 1 plus or a reinforced level 1 in which the councils can activate the UME. I am going to raise it in the Fecai and in the Government of the Canary Islands and the Government of Spain because it is a state regulation “, he pointed out.
For his part, the vice president, Lope Afonso, indicated that collaboration with the municipalities is essential because “they are the closest” to the affected residents.
GET BACK TO NORMALITY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
“We want them to return to normality as soon as possible and that is why we have taken this agreement,” he stressed.
Afonso also indicated that in the agreement approved by the Governing Council, the Government of Spain and the Government of the Canary Islands will be transferred, in order to their contribution at the beginning of the assessment of the damages caused and without prejudice to the formalization of the corresponding request. , once the immediate response actions to the emergency have been completed.
Similarly, the agreement encourages the areas of the Cabildo de Medio Natural, Sustenibilidad Seguridad y Emergencies; Industry, Commerce, Primary Sector and Animal Welfare and Mobility to promote the assessment of the damage caused by the forest fire, without prejudice to its completion and updating, once the immediate response actions to the emergency have been completed.
For his part, José Miguel Ruano indicated that Law 17/2015, of July 9, of the National Civil Protection System contemplates different measures applicable to the damages caused by these natural disasters, among which are financial aid to individuals for damages to habitual residence and basic necessities, compensation to local corporations for expenses derived from actions that cannot be postponed, aid to natural or legal persons who have carried out the personal or goods provision, aid for industrial, commercial and service establishments, subsidies for damage to municipal infrastructure, the provincial and insular road network, aid for damage to agricultural, livestock, forestry and marine aquaculture productions and opening of preferential loan lines subsidized by the Official Credit Institute (ICO).
