50% of area fires are intentional

Sierra Carbonera, July 8, 2011

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR (Agencies) The Junta's Department of the Environment has come up with some amazing, albeit sad, figures about forest and brush fires. It has concluded that 62% of the fires in the province of Cadiz, since the beginning of the year, are the result of arson. That is, the 42 fires so far were caused by man. So, 31% are started intentionally, and the reamining 31% are because of neglect (which in Spanish law is considered arson). At a recent meeting between the Junta's Environment head, Silvia López, and the special Environment prosecutor, Patricia Navarro, the figures revealed the extent of damage caused by fires over the last five years, particularly in the municipalities of Tarifa, Algeciras and San Roque, not only in terms of the number of them but also in the amount of hectares burned.>>>IF YOU FIND THIS ARTICLE INTERESTING, USEFUL OR ENTERTAINING, PLEASE CONSIDER THE WORK, EFFORT AND COST IT TAKES TO BRING IT TO YOU. WE WOULD APPRECIATE A DONATION TO CONTINUE A FREE SERVICE.
Algeciras saw 576.98 hectares burn up, San Roque 434.85, and Tarifa, 1,054.91. Special investigators from the area fire brigades came to the conclusion that half of these were started intentionally. The main reason: regeneration of pastures. The latest cases in San Roque (Sierra Carbonera) and Tarifa (Monte Ahumada) were clearly started by man.

The point of ignition, the time they started (at night) and the absence of elements such as electricity cables, or storms that could start a fire are the points in common, all of which indicate that the fires could not have started through natural causes or accidentally. Add this to the complexity of the terrain where they began -which shows excellent knowledge of the area- and the hypothesis by forestry experts is confirmed that they were started by arsonists.