Javea Grapevine 340 | Page 46

The amendment means they can now work up to three consecutive hours, as opposed to two, a welcome change in the wake of one of the worst years for forest fires since 2010. “Statistically, most forest fires last for three hours and the first hours of tackling them are the most effective,” says the spokesman. “There have been cases in which the fire has had to be abandoned to comply with the legislation and has then taken longer to put out when work has resumed. When it comes to planes that can’t fill with water in reservoirs close to the fire, the journey to refill is not efficient to deal with a fire. Normally, the plane doesn’t work for more th