The news stories.
La Palma was in the news in August 2009 due to forest fires on the southern tip of the island.
Many of the news reports of the extent of the damage were greatly exacurated, many were wildly inaccurate.
The press reported 4000 people evacuated from the island, hundreds of houses destroyed, most of the forests destroyed, they said that the observatory was threatened and the island was consumed by flames. There were even reports of mass evacuations by boat.
The damage
In fact the fires only burned in the very southern part of the island and damaged less than 2% of the pine forests on the island. Somewhere between 500 and 1000 people left their homes temporarily and returned the following day. No one had to leave the island. Only 30 houses were damaged, plus some outbuildings. No people died or were injured but a few dozen domestic animals were killed, some grape vines and lots of weeds were burnt. Nobody was evacuated from the island.
A handful of tourists missed their flights and one hotel had a smokey 24 hours.
For the people directly affected it was a disaster and very frightening, but for the majority of the island it was business as usual.
See www.islalapalma.com/en/forestfires.html for more details.
The pine forests
People talk about the forests being destroyed but that is not accurate. The grass, shrubs and pine needles on the ground burn, as do the dead pine needles hanging on the trees. The trees themselves get scorched but not burnt. The grass recovers after the next rain, the shrubs may take a few years to recover but due to their deep roots the pine trees start to sprout green shoots within weeks and recover substantially after the first winter.
The danger period?
Forest fires can occur in July and August when the vegetation is dried out and the weather is hot. A major fire occurs about once every 5 years, almost always they are high up in the pine forests on the hills up above the villages. Usually no houses are affected.
Fire protection services.
The forest fire protection services are active all year round cleaning up the forests and improving installations. From mid-june to mid-october their numbers are increased dramatically. In the north of the island large networks of high pressure water pipes have been laid and fire-breaks have been made. This helps to contain the fires and allow the fire services to bring them inder control quickly.
Preventative action
House owners take simple precautions to prevent their houses being damaged.
There are 2 dangers, one is fire creeping along the ground, the other is sparks blown by the wind.
The main precautions are:
- make concrete and gravel areas directly around the house, make a fire proof border of about 2 to 5 metres,
- make sure the house has no exposed wood,
- plant a garden with flowers, cactus and shrubs around the house,
- clear all grass and wild shrubs within 20 metres of the buildings,
- don't leave piles of wood near the house,
- when you are not there (in july and august) put all burnable objects (plastic garden furniture!) in a protected area away from the house, inside the house or in a shed.
- insist that any neighbours do the same, help them if needed.
With these simple precautions the risk of fire damage is very small.
