The Benalmádena Town Hall has activated an emergency plan to clear and create firebreaks in the most vulnerable urban-forest interface areas due to the risk of fires.
The Benalmádena Town Hall has implemented an immediate reinforcement of forest fire prevention efforts in the areas of the municipality identified by technical services as being at the highest risk. This emergency action includes clearing work, removal of combustible vegetation, and the creation or recovery of firebreaks in areas where a potential fire could spread towards homes and sensitive spaces.
This measure responds to the priority action plan proposed by the Security and Emergencies Area due to this year's exceptional situation. The extraordinary growth of vegetation, driven by recent rains, has exceeded the forecasts of ordinary clearing work, and the high temperatures and low humidity are accelerating the drying of the vegetation, increasing its flammability.
The mayor, Juan Antonio Lara, emphasised that “we are acting with prevention, responsibility, and anticipation. The safety of our residents and the protection of their homes and our natural environment are an absolute priority, and in an exceptional situation, we must allocate all necessary resources to minimise risks.”
Benalmádena has 517 hectares of forested land and 889 hectares of scrub and low woodland. The entire municipality is classified as a Danger Zone and is currently in the High Fire Danger period, which runs from June 1 to October 15. Between June 1 and July 30, the Fire Service intervened in four urban-forest interface fires that posed a risk to homes and in seven vehicle fires on the AP-7 that spread to forested land.
The work focuses on sections of Arroyo Hondo, Arroyo de la Soga, and Arroyo del Lagar, the Arroyo de Cazalla, the Retamar Rustic Park, and various urban areas with forest influence. The technical annex of the municipal report highlights numerous points where there is continuity of dry vegetation close to residential areas, which could facilitate the spread of a potential fire.
The actions include creating safety spaces by reducing combustible vegetation, low pruning, and raising branches to prevent fire from reaching the tree canopies, and thinning to break the continuity of the forest mass. The removed vegetation will be taken to authorised landfills or, when not feasible, will be shredded on-site. The work is supervised by the Emergency Management Area in coordination with the Municipal Environment Department.
The mayor has insisted that “the Town Hall has already been carrying out significant preventive work, but this year's exceptional circumstances compel us to take an additional step. We will not wait for an emergency to occur to act.” The emergency hiring is justified by the need to intervene without delay due to the existence of a serious danger to people, property, and the environment.
This measure is in addition to the promotion of a new contract for cleaning and clearing municipal channels, streams, and plots, which will allow for an expansion of these works in the medium term. In the meantime, residents of urban-forest interface areas can help by keeping their plots clean and avoiding accumulating plant debris near their homes.
You may also like
