The Guard Civil have had to evict four foreign tourists who decided to go hiking this morning (Wednesday) in the Pico de Las Nieves area which is affected by the forest fire in Gran Canaria.
As part of the security and firefighting team, a Guardia Civil patrol deployed in Tejeda spotted them at 10:50am and intervened by transporting them away from the area as it is deemed as too dangerous to use the trails and enter the forest.
How the fire started.
According to a Guardia Civil press release, the fire was started yesterday by accident by a 29-year-old worker for a private company that carries out forestry work for the Gran Canaria Cabildo. At the time the fire started, he was with three colleagues all using hedge and brush cutters in an area of dry grass next to the camping facilities in the Cortijo de Huertas.
Apparently, a spark from the machinery started a small fire, which he and his colleagues tried to put out with two fire extinguishers, but it spread so quickly they weren’t able to, and they called the emergency services.
At a press conference, the president of the Cabildo, Antonio Morales, confirmed the origin of the fire saying: "The machinery that was being used was allowed to be used because we are not currently on alert and the use of brush cutters is allowed in the forest environment”.
