Tenerife: Only two municipalities have forest fire fighting plans.

"Prepare the sleigh in summer, and the cart in winter" – this is how one can describe the situation with fires that have recently been destroying forests on the Peninsula. More than 400,000 hectares have already burned! This is twice the area of Tenerife. And more and more people are criticizing the authorities for the lack of resources and the absence of proper fire prevention programs.

Do the cities and villages of Tenerife, where forest fires often occur, have plans for fighting fires in winter? The answer is no.

Only two of the island's 31 municipalities have a clear fire action plan. The best of these is the El Rosario plan. Experts say it is a great example for other cities and villages, especially those where fires often occur.

Another municipality with such a plan is San Cristóbal de La Laguna. But this plan is already old, so it is currently being updated, taking into account climate change and the fact that many fields are overgrown with weeds that easily catch fire.

No other municipality has plans like those in El Rosario and La Laguna. These plans include risk maps, evacuation zones for people and animals, and information on who is responsible for emergencies.

These plans are part of the general municipal emergency programs (PEMU). They focus on planning and prevention. But the organization of extinguishing – forest brigades, equipment, fire monitoring – is the responsibility of higher authorities: regional and state, depending on the scale of the fire.

Back in 1997, a special civil protection plan for forest fires in the Canary Islands (Infoca) was created. It stipulates that each city or village must have its own fire response plan. These plans should include information on which areas are most prone to fires and what measures should be taken to prevent or respond quickly.

PEMUs take into account the threat of fires, but Marcos Lorenzo, Deputy Minister for Emergency Situations, believes that all municipalities should have a separate fire plan, like El Rosario and La Laguna. "This is logical, given that in many places there is a high risk of fires that can damage property and even people," he says.

Marcos Lorenzo knows how important such plans are. He was the mayor of Tijarafe, where fires often occur. He confirms that only two municipalities in Tenerife have a special fire plan, and only one in La Palma. That is, out of 88 municipalities in the Canary Islands, where 50 are prone to fires, only three have such a plan.

Marcos Lorenzo says that some municipalities want to follow the example of El Rosario, La Laguna and El Paso. "These plans are important because they take into account not only risk maps and what to do in an emergency, but also public awareness programs, especially for those who live near the forest," he explains.

"There are many factors to consider," says Marcos Lorenzo. For example, which trees are best planted near houses on the edge of the forest, or how to treat wood for doors and windows. Or even which roads are best used for evacuation.

To raise people's awareness of fires, the regional government is developing the "Preventive Wheel" project. These are brochures in the form of a wheel of fortune, which shows the main issues related to fire prevention and provides answers.

Roberto Castro, a forestry engineer from the Fénix Canarias organization, believes that the summer fires have reminded us of the need to strengthen the culture of safety and create emergency response plans. And in this, he believes, Spain and the Canary Islands have a lot of work to do.

"We have seen people forced to fight fires on their own, or criticize the authorities for lack of resources," emphasizes Roberto Castro. Therefore, he believes that the plans of El Rosario and El Paso are a great example for others.

Experts believe that organization and foresight are more important than a large number of helicopters and planes to extinguish fires. Abel López, a doctor of geography from the University of La Laguna (ULL), says that El Rosario was the first municipality to take fire prevention seriously. "The goal is to organize the measures and resources that need to be mobilized in the event of a fire, as well as to take all possible measures to reduce the danger," he notes.

Abel López says that fires are becoming increasingly uncontrollable due to global warming. "Climate change is making fire more destructive," he reminds. "It burns more dry vegetation than before." López talks about sixth-generation fires, which create their own climatic conditions, making them difficult to extinguish.

El Rosario was affected by a fire in 2023. Therefore, the mayor of the city, Escolástico Gil, worked so hard to develop an emergency response plan. "In 2023, we were close to a tragedy when the fire almost destroyed Lomo Pelado," recalls Escolástico Gil.

It is important not only to have a plan, but also to keep it up to date, experts remind. The La Laguna plan was approved back in 2011, so it is currently being updated.

There have been no major fires in Tenerife in the last two years. This was due to increased surveillance and the participation of the army. Meanwhile, municipalities have become interested in the plans of El Rosario and El Paso in order to create something similar in their own areas. So, the path to "fighting fires in winter" has already been marked.