Rosario Implements Stiff Fines for Uncollected Dry Grass to Prevent Fires
The municipality of El Rosario in the Canary Islands has approved a reinforced fire safety plan with strict fines for not clearing dry vegetation, in order to prevent a repeat of the large-scale fire of 2023.
El Rosario is doing great! They now have the coolest forest fire plan in the Canary Islands. It's like an instruction manual on what to do if a fire suddenly starts. And this plan was approved by the Canary Islands Territory Council – they are the main planning authority there.
But that's not all! El Rosario decided not only to wait for a fire but also to prevent it. They came up with a rule: every resident must remove dry grass and branches on their property, especially if they live near the forest. If you don't clean up, you'll be fined!
The fines are serious – from 60 to 3,000 euros if you don't keep your land clean within a 500-meter radius of your house.
The mayor of El Rosario, Escolástico Gil, says that the big fire in 2023 scared people more than the fines.
"When people saw the fire so close to their homes, they realized that it's better to remove dry grass so that the fire doesn't spread to their houses," the mayor explains. Fortunately, everything worked out then, but it could have been worse.
But the mayor assures that those who did not clean up were still punished. "A rule is a rule, and it must be followed. It's for our own safety. Thanks to this rule, we have already removed a lot of dry grass," he says.
The fire plan, which is 52 pages long, describes everything: what residents and rescuers should do, where to run if a fire starts. It even mentions the 2023 fire, which severely damaged the Corona Forestal forest, the largest green area in the Canary Islands. At that time, 601 hectares of forest burned down in the El Rosario area.
If you look at the map showing the risk zones, it becomes clear why El Rosario took this plan so seriously. Because almost all of their towns and villages (where 18,000 people live) are in a high or very high-risk zone: La Esperanza, Peñafiel, Lomo Pelado, Las Rosas, Preventorio, and Las Barreras. They all stand on the border between the city and the forest.
The plan also specifies who is in charge during a fire – the mayor or the head of civil defense, who controls everything – the Municipal Coordination Center, and where to evacuate people and animals. People will be taken to the Llano del Moro sports hall, the Machado school, the El Chorrillo Leticia Batista sports complex, and the San Isidro school.
And animals, both domestic and livestock, will be taken to the Maximiliano Bacallado football field. They were already received there during the fire in 2023. Finally, the plan includes instructions for residents on what to do in low and high-risk areas.