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In less than two months, the Collserola area near these two neighborhoods of Barcelona has suffered four forest fires
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Neighbors are both angry and worried, and criticize the poor state of conservation of the area
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“One of these days we will see a misfortune,” pleads Mari Carmen, neighbor of the Canyelles neighborhood, while taking the fresh air with other neighbors of the neighborhood in a park. He says this in relation to the recent fires that the Collserola area near their homes has experienced. He fears that, if the incident is repeated, the fire will surround families, cyclists and walkers who pass through the area. Many are those who mourn the burned mountain, in which they used to escape every day and of which they were proud. Neighborhood associations also attribute the issue to poor state of conservation of the area and no forest cleaning in which the park is located.
The first fire in the Collserola area near the Canyelles and Roquetes neighborhoods (Nou Barris) was on May 9. Then 3,000 square meters of forest were burned, close to the last houses in Canyelles. On May 26, two hectares of vegetation were calcined in the area of the Alta de Roquetes highway. The most spectacular fire was on June 8, where the fire destroyed 12 hectares of land. And the last one was the day of Sant Joan, of much less affectation, 920 square meters.
In search of a possible arsonist
The fire in early June was the one that activated all the alarms. The day after the security forces alerted that it was an intentional fire. The neighborhood suspects that an arsonist is on the loose in the bush. At the moment, the Rural Agents limited themselves to saying on Friday in Betevé that they already have identified a person who could have caused the flare. “They say he is a 60-year-old man,” say some neighbors.
“We can’t do anything, let’s hope they catch him as soon as possible, but we are very angry,” says Manolo Sánchez García, president of the Canyelles neighborhood association. “We are sad to see that our mountain is being loaded, it is our lung, it is part of the neighborhood and we are very proud to have this natural heritage next to home,” he says. “They are burning our mountain, our nature, we all breathe from it”, complains María Fernández, a shop assistant in a butcher shop in Roquetes who saw, on the front line, the last fire, that of Sant Joan. “It was a terrible scare,” he recalls.
“Well, I am afraid, these days I try to leave the house just enough, I don’t like this fire thing at all”
María López / Neighbor of Roquetes
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Fernández is very sorry to see how his mountain burns, but he is not afraid that the fire will reach the houses. “Well I am afraid, these days I try to leave the house just enough, I don’t like this fire thing,” replies María López, a client of the bar. The oldest neighbors, such as Isabel Antonio, who have lived in the area for more than seven decades, do not believe that the fire can reach their house, right in front of the mountain. “Can’t you see there is a road? It is impossible for the fire to reach my house,” he explains.. “Well, my son was very scared, because we live right in front of the mountain,” adds Rosario Pérez, from the same farm.
“In summer, we always have a small fire that fixes quickly. But this year is too much. There have been many, and one of them is very fat”
Manolo Sánchez / President of the Canyelles neighborhood association
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“It’s scary a bit, but surely nothing happens. Today I wanted to go upstairs to pick asparagus, but now it’s over, they’ll all be charred “, Gustavo Pino says, from the terrace of a bar in Roquetes. His only fear is that his car, which is parked in the parking lot closest to the mountain, will burn. “Every year there are fires here, but on June 8 it is evident that someone did it on purpose,” he suspects. “In summer, we always have a small fire that fixes quickly. But this year is too much. There have been many, and one of them is very fat,” says Sánchez.
Poor state of conservation
What all the neighbors agree on is the poor state of conservation of the mountain. “Clearly the Collserola park consortium has to take action on the matter. They cut the logs and leave them in the middle, this is flammable material, “Sánchez complains. Another neighbor, César, who, together with his mother, blames the poor state of conservation, also gives an account of this. “It is a danger. They leave the branches, the trunks in the middle, not to mention the garbage, bottles and other residues,” complains his mother, Marisol Juanchi. In fact, it is clear that cleanliness is conspicuous by its absence in the neighborhood. Forty-eight hours after the Sant Joan festival, several elderly people chat on the benches in front of a park, surrounded by gunpowder, cardboard boxes, streamers and other verbena residues. “They have abandoned us,” Isabel Antonio also complains.
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“One of these days we will see a misfortune. It is that everyone climbs the mountain. It is full of children, cycling families and neighbors who come to the park. And if the fire surrounds them, if they cannot get out … we will have a misfortune “, repeats Mari Carmen, another neighbor of Canyelles. It is also confirmed by those responsible for the two neighborhood associations, both in Roquetes and Canyelles, who ask the security forces to quickly find the culprit.
There is also concern about the recovery of the area that has been burned. “The firefighters arrived on time with many units and they have extinguished them as quickly as possible, but we are concerned that they would use the seaplanes and dump salty water from the sea,” complains the Canyelles neighborhood association. “Basically because the salt makes it difficult for vegetation to grow,” adds the president, which proposes to create another larger water reservoir in Collserola, to prevent this error from occurring again.
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