Friday, March 29

Seven fires in Galicia destroy more than 4,200 hectares in less than a week

Seven fires have devastated 4,262 hectares in Galicia in less than a week. One of them, in Boiro (O Barbanza), threatens population centers and the Xunta has decreed situation 2. Active since last Thursday, August 4, and still out of control, 2,200 hectares have been swept away. The Galician Government assures that “it evolves favorably”.

The Ministry of Rural Affairs also reports five other fires. Its restrictive communication policy in this regard, initiated with the arrival of Feijóo in 2009, leaves out those that affect less than 20 hectares. The Professional College of Journalists of Galicia issued a formal complaint about this situation last month, after a first wave of claims burned more than 30,000 hectares, with especially serious fires in O Courel, Valdeorras -the largest ever recorded in the community- or Vilariño de Conso.

As of August 7, the flames are also active in Pontecaldelas (Pontevedra, 380 hectares), Verín (Ourense, 600 hectares), A Mezquita (Ourense, 150 hectares), Caldas de Reis (Pontevedra, 450 hectares), and two in Arbo (Pontevedra, 400 and 82 hectares). Alfonso Rueda’s cabinet insists that most of the fires are intentional and the responsibility of “arsonists.” So far there have been no arrests.



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