Expat starts forest fire in La Palma with garden bonfire
Thursday, August 4, 2016 @ 11:13 AM
AN INFERNO sweeping the Canary Island of La Palma may have been caused by an expat burning garden rubbish, say emergency services, who are grappling with tough conditions to try to bring the flames under control.
They were called out at around 14.15hrs yesterday (Wednesday) and helicopters worked until nightfall alongside firefighters and the La Caldera de Taburiente National Park forestry commission.
The fire is in a hard-to-reach area, meaning once the helicopters had to withdraw at nightfall, ground workers were unable to make much progress.
Intense heat, with highs of between 35ºC and 40ºC in the shade, and forecasts of high winds, are hampering operations, and already several hectares of land have been wiped out.
The blaze started in the rural Jedey area in El Paso, and has been heading rapidly up the mountain since, having spread to a pine forest between El Paso and neighbouring Fuencaliente.
A 27-year-old German man who lives near where the inferno started has been arrested for ‘negligence’, as a bonfire he lit to get rid of garden waste – despite this being illegal in summer everywhere in Spain – is believed to have been the cause of the fire.
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