Minor fire on La Gomera & some good news

On Sunday, June 9th '13, there was a minor brush fire in the Chejelipes region of La Gomera island. The fire was put out within two hours with the aid of a helicopter and so did only limited damage to some agricultural land. The cause of the fire remains to be established.
However, the incident did highlight the danger the Canary Islands are facing with the beginning of the dry season and the rising temperature. This fire broke out at around midday and this gave the helicopter and fire crews a chance to act effectively. During the night the situation could get out of control more easily...
After this incident the island's president Casimiro Curbelo once again called for a helicopter to be based on La Gomera permanently and the island remains the only Canary island without its own helicopter.

A hydro-plane in action during the 2013 fires on La Gomera

There is some good news to report as well: The Canarian minister for industry, energy and tourism, Jose Manuel Soria announced a couple of days ago that a hydro-plane will be sent from the Spanish Peninsula on the first of July this year to be based in the Canary Islands until the end of the summer. This will greatly help in reducing the risk of minor fires becoming major blazes. Remember that the Canarian government repeatedly called for such an aircraft to be stationed here permanently and up to now the central government refused to send one. 
During last year's major blaze on La Gomera it took several days until the first such plane arrived here and the flames did spread beyond control.

See also Fire on La Gomera 2012