The movie of the month December
The fires were brought under control again relatively quickly by the fire department, but only with an enormous use of resources. According to the emergency coordination center of the Generalitat Valenciana, only the first fire was mobilized for the operation:
- three firefighters from the Alicante Provincial Council,
- two forest firefighting units,
- two fire engines,
- an aircraft,
- an environmental officer
- a fire protection unit.
I am stunned to see how, after three months without rain in extremely dry conditions, agricultural waste is burned and forest fires or even threats to settlements are accepted out of ignorance and/or convenience.
In 2022, 306,000 hectares of forest were destroyed by forest fires in Spain, and around 30,000 people had to be temporarily evacuated to safety. The total loss was in the billions. Not all forest fires could have been avoided, such as the devastating fire in the Vall d’Ebo area caused by a dry thunderstorm. However, many of the fires could have been prevented by using agricultural waste to generate energy or as a raw material with a double benefit.
Apart from the economic damage, air pollution from forest fires causes respiratory diseases such as asthma or COPD and diseases of the heart, brain and kidneys.
The movie of the month is from December 25th, Christmas Day, which is of course also a holiday in Spain.
At the beginning of February I will show you the video of the month January.