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María Albarral
Mijas
Monday, 19 August 2024
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The president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, paid a visit last Friday to the area of the Sierra de Mijas, part of a mountain range badly hit just over two years ago by a major forest fire. That same fire also devastated other areas of public forest and affected nearly 2,000 hectares in the Malaga province municipalities of Mijas, Alhaurín el Grande and Alhaurín de la Torre. Moreno praised the recovery work that has made it possible for the forest to be ready for future reforestation.
The Junta's head was keen to point out that, once the fire was extinguished, the Junta undertook to make every effort to recover this area from the damage done by the flames as soon as possible. As such the ball was set rolling with a budget of more than two million euros to undertake work to avoid fire risks and to regenerate the land, work that has now been completed.
As Moreno stated during the visit, when a fire of this magnitude occurs it is necessary to intervene on many fronts to eradicate further fire risks, to clean up the remains of dead wood and to revive land in readiness for subsequent reforestation.
"This is what we have done in the three affected areas, specifically in the mountains of Sierra Blanca, Sierra de Alhaurín el Grande, La Mezquita and Puerto Blanquillo in Alhaurín de la Torre. This work has been carried out in all three areas and the work has been completed in all three".
The Junta president thanked the Plan Infoca team (the Junta's forest fire specialist brigade) for its timely response to emergencies, the hard work of the staff and their dedication to the job. At the same time he also called on the public to be prudent and responsible when out and about enjoying the countryside. Moreno underlined the increased risk of wildfires in summer in the Andalucía region and the need for everyone to prevent causing them, to remain vigilant and to collaborate with Plan Infoca on fire prevention to protect the valuable natural heritage that we have and that "is everyone's responsibility".
Moreno reported that the average number of wildfires registered in Andalucía has been reduced by more than 20% compared to the average of the last ten years and that so far this year there have been 372 incidents requiring a response from emergency services compared to an average of 500 at this time of year, some 100 less than last year.
He alluded to the number of hectares burnt, which, has reached the average for the decade, some 5,500 hectares, and Moreno said that Andalucía has the best prepared fire-fighting system and the most resources in Spain, with a 15% increase in fire-fighting vehicles this year, in addition to 44 aircraft, including planes and helicopters, and 2,700 firefighters and other professionals.
Moreno was accompanied on his visit by Ana Mata (mayor of Mijas), Patricia Navarro (Junta delegate for Malaga), and the regional delegate for Sustainability and Environment, José Antonio Víquez.
In turn the mayor thanked the president for his visit and the work carried out by the Junta de Andalucía to aid the recovery of the Sierra de Mijas and she announced that "we [the Mijas council] are finishing the drafting of a tender to publish a five-year contract with a total budget of 1.2 million euros for the execution of forestry work aimed at fire prevention and which will include, among other actions, work such as clearing, cutting down trees in poor condition, or thinning out the forest, all while preserving the fauna and flora of the mountains".
The work, which will be carried out in the areas known as Sierra Blanca and Sierra Bermeja, will carry on over eight months from October to May. They cannot start sooner because, from 1 June to 15 October, a series of prohibitions are in place to prevent fires - for instance, use of chainsaws - and therefore no action can be taken during this period.
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