Forest Terrorism in Galicia

Forest Terrorism in Galicia

Forest fires are always a problem during the summer months in Spain. In Galicia, at the moment there are currently around 60 "active" fires burning with a further 30 or so described as being "under control" - to read through the semantics this means that there are currently around 100 fires requiring attention from the authorities.

Often these fires are started by people: either by accident or by design. The practice of starting fires deliberately has been dubbed "terrorismo forestal" (forest terrorism) by many, including the Spanish socialist environment minister Cristina Narbona. Señora Narbona suspects that the perpetrators either have "disorders of all types" or could be disgruntled applicants rejected from consideration from the fire services this year. She is also, rightly in my opinion, calling for harsh punishments for those caught.

Alfredo Suarez Canal (Galicia’s rural environment councilor) has said that the authorities were now dealing with a new strain of arsonist as a large number of the fires had been started in woods near residential zones – clearly the intention has been to cause harm. Up to the early part of this week, seven people had been arrested although one has since been released without charge.

So... compare this figure of six people so far charged to the three unfortunate people who have perished as a result of the fires in Galicia, the fact that 35% of Spain’s firefighting resources are currently battling the fires and the conscription of a large volunteer effort from other autonomous regions of Spain and the result is an enormous amount of human suffering due to a few malicious and murderous idiots.