For months, Eulalio Domínguez’s herd of goats has been grazing intensively in the interface areas of the El Rosario municipality in La Esperanza, designated as a High-Risk Fire Zone (ZARI). This unique forest brigade, comprised of 70 goat-firefighters, consumes around 300 kilos of plant material daily, carrying out crucial preventive work against potential wildfires to reduce their spread.
This natural preparation method in the face of fire effects is a result of the municipal initiative for shepherds in the goat and sheep sector in the upper part of the municipality, specifically in La Esperanza and Las Barreras, to enhance grazing activities in interface areas and ravines, as well as in private estates where owners have allowed their animals entry, as a means to maintain rural communities located near the forest and prevent severe consequences of a potential fire in inhabited areas.
Eulalio Domínguez’s herd of goats. / E. D.
The Mayor of El Rosario, Escolástico Gil, emphasises that, “in a municipality as rural as ours, it is necessary to focus on what has always been done to avoid a tragedy like last summer’s, which means feeding livestock with the grass that grows in estates, paths, and roads. The issue is that the number of abandoned lands that have ceased to be cultivated is increasing, and therefore, the risks of a fire are also growing.”
Therefore, Gil highlighted the work carried out by shepherds and goatherds like Eulalio Domínguez or Hilario Barrios, better known as Kiko, whose efforts are benefiting areas such as La Montañeta, Vista la Huerta, Peñafiel, Las Erillas, Juan Fernández, or El Poleo through this initiative. This is further compounded by the recent final approval of the municipal ordinance on cleaning, fencing, and enclosure of vacant lots and plots in the municipality of El Rosario. This is a regulatory document that, among other measures, streamlines the cleansing of plots located in rustic areas adjacent to the forest, which are where the main safety issues arise in the event of a forest fire.
[–>
Eulalio Domínguez’s herd of goats. / E. D.
As part of this prevention package, it is worth noting the implementation of the Municipal Action Plan against the Risk of Forest Fires. El Rosario is the first municipality in Canarias to have such a document, which has been developed by the Disaster Risk Reduction Chair. Resilient Cities of the University of La Laguna (ULL).
