Los Realejos Fire Cameras Vandalized
Two forest monitoring cameras on Los Realejos mountain, installed to prevent fires, were found vandalized last week, prompting a police investigation and plans for their immediate reinstallation.
Last week, two of the eight cameras on Los Realejos mountain, which were installed to monitor access to forest tracks and paths, were found vandalized and on the ground. "The first one appeared on Thursday, and we thought it was due to the bad weather and strong winds recently," said Mayor Adolfo González. However, the next day, another camera was discovered "with a clean cut at the base of the pole, made by hand with an angle grinder, clearly intended to knock it down. They didn't even steal it; they just left it there," the mayor explained.
These cameras were put in place about three years ago because of frequent fires in the municipality, which happened almost every week. Their purpose was to track people entering the area.
The City Council asked the Government Sub-delegation to install them to monitor the mountain's border areas. This special measure "has shown good results," coinciding with the imprisonment two years ago of the man who caused the forest fire in July 2023. This individual had also been convicted in 2010 for starting another fire, for which he received a one-year sentence and was banned from the burned area for two years.
"Since then, there have been no more fires in the Icod el Alto area," the mayor emphasized.
Because of this success, the mayor doesn't understand why two of these cameras have been vandalized and knocked down. "It makes us think someone doesn't want us monitoring Los Realejos mountain," he stated.
The City Council has reported the incident to its insurance company. Both cameras will be reinstalled as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the National Police are investigating the event, and a formal complaint will be filed.