GOVERNMENT VOWS TO GET TOUGH ON ARSONISTS

Over the weekend, fires broke out in Palma, Arta, Capdella and Capdepera and yesterday two more were reported in Son Vida, again, Puigpunyent and Bunyola.

Both Bauza and the central government delegate to the Balearics, Teresa Palmer, called on the general public for their full collaboration in bringing the arsonists to justice.

Bauza said that what has been going on this summer with most of the forest fires having been apparently started intentionally , “is unacceptable. These people are destroying our natural heritage and we have to stop them,” he said.

The Capdella fire, which broke out on Saturday, was finally brought under control and extinguished on Sunday evening while the Capdepera blaze was not put out until yesterday morning.

Scores of properties in Capdella were evacuated on Saturday and parts of the village closed off to residents with the fire moving closer and closer to the village.

The Capdepera blaze also led to residents on the S'Heretat urbanisation to also being evacuated.
Members of the army's emergency brigade were deployed to the island to help fight the Capdepera blaze and yesterday, fire fighters remained in both Capdepera and Capdella dousing down the fire zones and making sure that the fire do not spring back to life with the island currently facing a very high risk of forest fires as the heat wave continues.

The Balearic environmental group GOB also called for swift and tough action stressing that on August 21 last year, there was a forest fire in nearly the same area between Son Servera and Capdepera.

Residents in Capdella yesterday praised the fire fighters and the pilots of the water bombers and helicopters for all their hard work. “It was certainly close this time but all those involved in fighting the fire did a marvelous job, we can not praise them enough,” one local resident told the Bulletin.

The Guardia Civil have opened investigations into all of the fires.