The Tenerife Island Council is putting up for auction part of the wood from the Californian pine trees affected by the fire that ravaged the Corona Forestal of the island last August. A total of six lots of forest products will be auctioned, 9,500 cubic meters (2.6 hectares) of cut and stacked wood. Another 1,000 cubic meters of chopped branches are also being put up for agricultural use.
All the wood comes from the Californian pines, also known as radiata pines, which, according to Blanca Pérez, insular councillor for Natural Environment, Sustainability, and Safety, “were introduced to Tenerife in the mid-20th century at the expense of large areas of native forest”. They have nothing to do with the Canarian pine, an endemic species of the islands, protected and predominant in the forests of the Corona Forestal.
The auction will take place at the Torre Roja of the Santiago Martín Pavilion in La Laguna on Thursday, the 15th. Six lots will be auctioned: three of cut wood totaling 9,500 cubic meters from different parts of the island, at a value that could reach 380,000 euros (two lots of 120,000 and one of 140,000 euros); and another three of chopped branches, which are estimated to reach 3,000 euros, according to the forecast of the Natural Environment department responsible for this auction. Buyers will be able to use the wood to make planks, beams, or slats, as well as the chopped branches for agricultural work.
The Island Government Council approved this procedure due to the risk that the Californian pine trees affected by the fire pose to people, one of the most devastating fires recorded in the archipelago.
Regarding this, Blanca Pérez explains that it is “necessary” to carry out the task of removing these trees “because this type of pine can reach 25 meters in height and three tons in weight, which poses a danger to people, both for the forestry workers and for the users of the forests due to the potential falls and the fire risk they entail”. “Hence the measures to limit access to the forest to minimize the risks. Without a doubt, we are talking about a priority action,” she emphasizes.
The Island Government Council approved this procedure due to the risk that the Californian pine trees affected by the fire pose to people
The danger of these large trees falling is determined by their low resistance to fires and weather conditions, so the areas where they are established are sensitive and dangerous areas that require coercive access measures for people.
“The intention of the Council is to hold new auctions to avoid undesirable situations, as we are talking about a material that can be flammable,” emphasized the head of the Natural Environment area. The Canarian pine, unlike the Californian pine, does show great resistance to fire. In fact, depending on the degree of damage, most can sprout again.
The 10,500 cubic meters being auctioned off are a small part of the radiata pine that was planted on the island, estimated at over 200,000 cubic meters. This represents more than 400 hectares of this tree variety that was introduced between the 1940s and 1950s in the monteverde areas for agricultural use.
This variety was introduced between the 1940s and 1950s in the monteverde areas of the island for agricultural use
The Tenerife Island Council has removed a significant portion of the 2,000 hectares of radiata pine planted on the island in the last 35 years. The vast majority of the felling was due to extraordinary events that affected the pine forests at the time and a small part due to the annual utilization plans established by the island corporation.
The reafforestation of the island with Californian pine began in the 1940s due to the deforestation of the island and the lack of foreign currency to import wood, in response to which the political authorities of the time proposed to recover wood through fast-growing trees.
The fire broke out on August 15 last year in the mountains of the municipality of Arafo. It devastated over 14,000 hectares of the Corona Forestal of Tenerife, the largest protected area in the Canary Islands. It was stabilized on August 25 and declared extinct on November 10.
