Sunday, October 08, 2017

Gran Canaria after the forest fire, September 2017

Spooky beauty of burnt pines

The Canary Islands are not very seasonal, but there is a significant difference in rainfall between winter and summer. By the end of each summer, Gran Canaria turns yellow and brown; pine trees and evergreens resist, but not very successfully. Flora is dormant; everything waits for the winter rains.

And everything is gunpowder-dry.

Every year the island council (Cabildo) closes public BBQs, so that no stray sparks fly. They hire special people to watch for forest fires*, they ask people to stay vigilant, etc., etc.

But the island with all its inhabitant and tourists and all the activity is too complex a system to always work as desired. So forest fires happen, and there was one this year.