Geographic scope

Sa Pobla (Majorca)

Period

2014

Creation of a safety zone to prevent forest fires in the municipality of Sa Pobla (Majorca)

Collaboration agreement between Red Eléctrica and the Government of the Balearic Islands for the prevention and fighting of forest fires.

Red Eléctrica and the Government of the Balearic Islands collaborated in 2014 in order to create a safety zone perimeter to protect the residential estate of Crestatx (Sa Pobla), at the foot of the Sierra de Tramontana, with the aim of preventing forest fires in the area.

With this fire break strip, 30 metres wide, made linearly around the perimeter of the residential estate has reduced the vertical and horizontal continuity of a possible fuel source, so that the start or spread of wildfires is made more difficult. In this area the forest undergrowth was cleared by removing the most highly flammable vegetation & scrub, the trees were pruned and tree density was reduced to prevent a possible surface fire from becoming a treetop to treetop fire.

To do this, threatened plant and flora species were respected, i.e. those included in the endangered, vulnerable, conservation dependent  or sensitive to habitat alteration categories, specified in Decree 75/2005 of 8 July (BOIB (Balearic Islands’ Official State Gazette) no. 106 of 16/07/05).