Throughout the year, La Gomera carries out various actions and drills designed to strengthen the island's readiness for potential forest fires. These initiatives are part of ongoing prevention and extinction efforts, with particular focus on mid-slope and summit areas where terrain and vegetation can complicate intervention efforts.
The President of the Cabildo, Casimiro Curbelo, highlighted that these activities are part of a sustained strategy of prevention and preparation, aimed at protecting the island's population, territory, and natural heritage from the increasing risk of fires.
Curbelo emphasized the importance of drills as a tool to test the operational capacity of different units, foster mutual understanding among teams, and solidify joint working mechanisms before facing a real emergency.
For his part, the insular counselor for Environment, Héctor Cabrera, noted that wildfire preparedness is not limited to high-risk seasons. "Throughout the year, preventive actions, land management, training, and coordination exercises are maintained with the goal of reducing risks and improving response effectiveness in the event of an emergency," he stated.
In recent weeks, several forest fire drills have been conducted, integrating resources from various administrations and entities, as part of the continuous work to enhance the island's preparedness for such emergencies.
These exercises involve coordinated resources from the Cabildo of La Gomera, through its Environment Department, alongside resources from other collaborating administrations and entities. This includes ground brigades, technical staff, forest rangers, coordination and communication teams, and support resources. The practices allow for on-the-ground evaluation of role distribution, communication protocols, and joint response capabilities, as well as identifying potential areas for improvement.
These types of drills also help familiarize professionals with the challenges posed by a forest fire, considering the fire's evolution, the terrain's orography, access issues, and the need to mobilize and coordinate multiple resources simultaneously.
