After suffocating Vall d’Ebo, the largest fire the state of Alicante has recorded in the last decade, and the horrific fire that affected the surrounding areas, it’s time to evaluate, and the panorama it leaves behind is decidedly bleak. At least 3,000 of the 12,150 hectares burned correspond to cropsmainly olive, cherry and almond trees, which if replanted take no less than five years to return to minimum productivity. Therefore, the losses are around 193 million euros.Add to this the destruction of around 10,000 beehives and the different infrastructures affected. A fire in a rural setting where the majority of the population is retired has gone to feed on the only livelihood of the youth, so the risk of depopulation is more real now.
On Saturday night, August 13, a lightning strike from the dark sky triggered a catastrophe of enormous proportions. Exploding from Vall d’Ebo, propelled by wind and strong heat and taking advantage of the fact that aircraft could not operate in the dark, the fire expanded with unusual speed until it became an unstoppable monster. The flames spread to Vall d’Alcalà and Vall de Gallinera, then to the municipalities of Benimassot, Tollos, Fageca, Famorca and the county of Millena, forcing their residents to evacuate. It was only a week later that the extinguisher stabilized the fire, but not before it stopped. A trace of destruction not less than 12,150 hectares.
Thanks to the work of the fire brigade, forest firefighters and UME, the fire did not damage the houses, but damaged the livelihoods of most residents. According to Asaja’s initial estimates, the flames destroyed about 3,000 hectares of crops, mainly olive, cherry and almond trees, and will not produce them again.
The economic impact of this agricultural tragedy is gross.I. When the land price index published by the Ministry of Agriculture is taken as a reference, the value of the demolished land reaches 33 million Euros. But the work does not end there. If trees are replanted, they will not be able to yield again for at least five years and farmers will not be able to gain any profitability during this time. Thus, taking into account the current prices of the affected fruits and the average yield of the trees, the total losses as a result of the fire would not have been less than 193 million Euros.
But the tragedy goes much further, and they have names and surnames. Vicen Llodrá is a 26-year-old young farmer from Beniaia who has been working in the fields professionally for three years. “I – he emphasizes – I’m from Cocentaina, but my father and grandfather are from here, so I decided to come here and live in the town and work on the land”.
However, the fire shattered all their illusions, as 90% of the 17 hectares of cherry and olive trees were lost to history. “That thing—explains—was bad anyway, because I recently had to uproot 1500 almond trees due to the xylella plague.. But what happened now was the last straw.
The future is therefore presented with more uncertainty than ever before. “I’ve lost my livelihood, so if we don’t get enough help, I’ll have no choice but to leave town,” she complains.
Something very similar happened in Alcalà de la Jovada with Juanjo Pérez, who ran 5 Oliveres companies dedicated to the production of quality oil. In his case, ten hectares of olive trees and three cherry trees were burned by 70%, jeopardizing the orders on the table. “The situation – he explains – is dramatic, because fire was a terrible killer and took everything forward».
Pérez hopes to be able to serve his customers thanks to the solidarity of the farmers who were not affected by the fire. “I am from Fageca and they offered me oil production. It’s also from Millena, where my olives are pressed, but the reality is that the future is very complex, because we’re going to have five years in Alcalà before we even get an olive,” he warns.
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José Vicente Andreu, president of Asaja Alicante, claims to have had some influence on this issue during this time. agricultural income permit guarantees farmers and ranchers in the affected areas “a minimum income that allows them to start recovering their rain-fed crops and be forced to abandon it, a fact that will increase depopulation in this region, a fact that has already been hit hard due to the destruction of healthy trees to combat the Xylella fastidiosa plague.” random felling of almond trees».
In fact, the organization has presented its entire technical and professional team to the Ministry of Agriculture and the assemblies of the affected municipalities in order to speed up the delivery of these aids as much as possible. expanded to include agricultural cooperatives.
Support schemes allegedly take into account farmers in the region as well as beekeepers, from Asaja. Of the approximately 130 farms in the affected areas, 25 were directly damaged. It so happens that prolonged drought on the national territory has affected many transhumance beehives not to leave the Community during the summer months, increasing the damage. So calculated about 10,000 people affectedHe said that the shortage of food and water caused by not being able to benefit from the burning forest for ten years will have deadly consequences for the sector.
Meanwhile, the Government announced that this place was declared a disaster area while Generalitat was processing aid from the European Union. There are gaps in the extent of these subsidies and whether they will be sufficient to renew the affected area and protect the population.
Amid this gloomy atmosphere, Pablo Martínez, mayor of Vall d’Alcalà, is trying to send an optimistic message. In his own words, “We will work hard to get help from the administrations. The townspeople are shocked by what has happened but It is important that you do not leave and that the fields are cultivated. As in other situations, we must do everything possible to move forward and get out of this situation.
Threat to rural tourism
The fire had a direct and immediate impact on agriculture, but there are other sectors whose activities may also be affected as a result of the fire, such as rural tourism. In fact, hostels and restaurants in the area fear a drop in customer numbers due to the charred landscapes left behind by the flames.
Alcalà de la Jovada is a picturesque municipality that has managed to attract a large number of visitors in recent years, especially on weekends, long weekends and at special times. The operation of the means of destruction made it possible to preserve the perimeter of the urban area, but the same did not happen in much of the municipal area, which until recently was a walking and sightseeing paradise. What is feared is that the effects of the fire will deter tourists.
Gema Ginés runs the La Font d’Alcalà hotel in this municipality and says “we managed to fill it last weekend because people didn’t want to change their plans and we also have a loyal client who told us that now they will come more than before. But there is uncertainty because what will happen next is really we don’t know.”
While there is hope for what nature can do with its own means, Gema points out that what will happen in the future will have a lot to do with the effectiveness of the policies carried out to revitalize the region. “Probably if we look at next spring and after the coming rains the landscape will start to turn green and we will see things differently,” he emphasizes.