September 2014 News Headlines

Xàbia releases €117,000 for Montgó fire cleanup

Sept 25th
Xàbia Town Hall has set aside almost €117,000 to carry out emergency clean-up operations follwoing the Montgó fire. This involves felling and removing burned or partially burned trees which may be a danger to the public, repairing damaged terraces and ditches and anti erosion measures, as well as promoting wildlife. For full account see: Javeamigos. In a related development, the Natural Park authorities have simplified the procedure for obtaining permission to fell burned trees and clean land so that the property owner affected can quickly clear their propery. They also noted that people were under the wrong impression that it was illegal to clean and maintain land, when this was not the case, and that some agricultural practices were allowed in the park (from Press Release).

Ontinyent company wins Avenida Augusta contract

Lighting of Arnauda Riurau to cost €11000 less than anticipated.

Sept 24th
The company "Construcciones Francés" based in Ontinyent has won the contract to finish off part of the Avenida Augusta. The contract was valued at €695,164, but their bid came in at €397,161. The company has done a variety of works in the area including in Denia. The contract for the roofing and lighting of the Arnuada Riurau (A Participatory budget) will now be offered at €72.271, a saving of some €11,000 on the original estimate. From XAD: Construcciones....

Intentional forest fire started in Xàbia's Pinosol area

Sept 21st
At 8.00pm on Friday evening a small fire in the Pinosol area (Calle Paul Klee) was lit, probably intentionally. It was quickly extinguished by firefighters, having consumed some 100 metres of hillside.
From Las Provincias

La Plana residents call for Watchtower, better mobile phone coverage and reforestation

Sept 19th
Residents of La Plana which was affected by the Montgó fire have met with the Mayor and asked for a watchtower to be installed on the cabo de San Antonio; they also asked for better mobile phone coverage and reforestation with carob and oaks. from XAD: For full report in English see: Javeamigos Ed's note: Cypress Trees have been seen to be very fire resistant in Valencia: See: El País in English

Valencian Government to spend €175,000 on immediate measures in the aftermath of the Montgó fire.

Sept 19th
The Valencian Government has announced plans to spend €175,000 on immediate measures regarding damage caused by the Montgó fire. Their main concern is the possibility of excess erosion in the autumn rains and they will be repairing damaged terraces, building retaining fences and enhancing a network of natural drainage. Trees will be removed from burned forest, and tracks repaired. Focus will be on areas used by the public and inhabited areas. No moves for reforestation will be made until an evaluation of natural regneneration has taken place after a year. From XAD. For detailed report see Javeamigos.

Spat about confusion in fighting the Montgó Fire

Sept 18th
A war of words has broken out between Mayor Chulvi and the regional government about the degree of coordination and support between the regional and local firefighters. Articles in Jáveamigos give both sides of the argument. Firstly, "Xàbia calls for responsibility for neglect of La Plana during Fire fighting operations" Jávea calls.. and then the response from the Generalitat: "Generalitat claims Jávea mayor is not telling the truth In addition, José Chulvi deplored the inaction of the Montgó Park managemnt Board, in this and other issues including the possible prospecting for oil in the Gulf of Valencia, and proposal to turn the lighthouse into an hotel, and accused the regional authorities of not maintaining the park properly so that the fire risk had increased. He also initiated a reforestation project, asking for volunteers through a form on the Municipal website.

The Montgó Phoenix Project - an alternative approach to the Montgó Fire

Sept 17th
This is a proposal put forward by Members of the PUXS association (Para Una Xàbia Sostenible), in response to the aftermath of the extensive fire in the Montgo Natural Park. It promotes allowing the park to regenerate naturally, while at the same time exploiting the regeneration process as an opportunity for tourism, public education about the environment and even adding to the knowledge base about the park. For details see: Montgó Phoenix Project Association members and interested parties will be meeting in October 2014 to develop this idea into a viable project so that it can be put forward to the relevant authorities and experts for consideration.

Facebook page promoting reforestation of the Montgó Natural Park gets over 10,000 "likes"

But experts advise caution

Sept 17th
A Facebook page entitled : "Montgó Viu" - which promotes the reforestation of the Montgó natural Park, received over 10,000 "likes" within 73 hours of the fire. However, the person who set up the page, Pere Peréz is himself cautious about what should be done stating in the press that he wanted a safe, regenerated park. The president of the Association against Forest Fires (ACIF) said that during the coming year there should be a study to see how the affected zone is regenerating, and only then could they decide what to do in certain areas. Although he applauded the popular sentiments of the people, he noted that in some cases they could be harmful" From TV Denia

Video of effects of fire from the air- Xàbia and Denia

View the video on this page of Dairioinformación - (could not embed this on the Wiki). It shows the effects of the fire on the Cabo de San Antonio as well as Denia
http://multimedia.diarioinformacion.com/videos/alicante/20140914/desolacion-parque-natural-del-montgo-desde-las-alturas-942496.shtml

Video of effects of fire from the air - Denia

The hottest start to September since 1950

Sept 12
The Spanish Met Office has recorded the hottest start to September in the Comunidad since since 1950. Although hot days are expected in September, a number of consecutive hot days is exceptional. The anomaly is mainly related to high nigh temperatures which are 2.5 degrees above average. From Las Provincias.

Massive fire decimates La Plana of the Montgó

Sept 11
A fire broke out on La Plana in the Montgó Natural Park Thursday Sept 11th at about 3 in the afternoon. It seems to have begun within the park, along the semi-urban Cami la Serpeta, not far from the windmills. Witnesses report a bang, like a can of petrol exploding. If true, this modus operandi is similar to that used to start the fire near Los Lagos in the spring. There are other reports of multiple fire foci in the La Plana area and negligence has not been ruled out. Aided by high tempratures and brisk winds, the fire spread towards Denia as far as Las Rotas, incinerating 439 hectares of mostly forest, causing the evacuation of over 1400 people and the destruction of a number of homes. The fire raged through the night, and by next morning the wind had changed direction and flames consumed the Cabo de San Antonio, down to the sea near Xàbia Port. A special operation was launched which included the Military Emergency Unit (UME). A total of 19 air assets (planes and helicopters) and 21 fire engines worked to bring the fire under control. From Las Provincias and Levante. For more in English see: El Pais in English. For extensive narrative in English see: Javeamigos.

Crisis sees rise in number of youngsters out of work and not studying

Sept 10th
One in every four young Spaniards is a “nini” – a nickname in Spanish for someone who is neither working nor studying (ni trabaja, ni estudia). According to a new education report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Spain has the highest number of ninis aged between 15 and 29. The level is also five points higher than the OECD average, on a par with Chile, Ireland, Turkey, Italy and Mexico. The number of university graduates in the country out of work, or who are no longer studying, has risen 10 points in four years, to 23 percent, according to the OECD’s Education at a Glance 2014 report. For full story see: El País in English

Port works to begin on 9th September

Sept 5th
The renovation of the avenida Jaume I will begin next Tuesday. The works were planned for the autumn of last year but were delayed after several modifcaciones, which forced it to be redone and re-tendered. Then Easter got in the way and the works were delayed until after the summer. The project has a cost of 110,000 euros and in addition to widening the sidewalks, will renew tree grates, install new street lights and reorganize the parking spaces. The work will be carried out by Montgó SL and will have a duration of four months. from XAD: Las Obras..

Wage cuts causing Spanish households to struggle, warns OECD

Sept 3rd
Cuts to the annual average wage of around 2% triggered by the economic crisis have caused Spanish workers and families to struggle to make ends meet, a study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has found. In its 2014 Employment Outlook report, released on Wednesday, the international organization adds that the reductions have also improved productivity and external competitiveness. Spain will post the best unemployment reduction rate between 2014 and 2015 (-2.2%), but the jobless rate will still hover around 23.9% by the end of next year, a figure that is set only to be surpassed by Greece with 27%. The euro zone average is 11.6% while the US average is 6.2%.For full story see: El País in English

Summer tourism 2014 shows slight improvement over 2013

Sept 3rd
Figures released by the Xàbia Tourism department showed the overall number of tourists this summer to be similar to last year. Hotel occupation and registered property rentals were down a bit, while camp site occupation was up. Numbers of tourists per day, calculated from water consumption and volumes of rubbish collected were just over 41,000 in August and just over 33,000 in July. Overall the figures were seen as a "slight improvement", though there was a tendency for short stays and visitors were spending less. For full story see: Javeamigos The main foreign tourists were English and French followed by Dutch and German (From Press release)

Can we prevent the End of the World ?

Sept 1st
A post-apocalyptic Earth, emptied of humans, seems like the stuff of science fiction TV and movies. But in this short, surprising talk, Lord Martin Rees asks us to think about our real existential risks — natural and human-made threats that could wipe out humanity. As a concerned member of the human race, he asks: What’s the worst thing that could possibly happen?

Spain's brain drain 'worst in Western Europe'

Sept 1st
Spain is among the European countries hardest hit by the so-called 'brain drain' effect with thousands of professionals including nurses and teachers taking steps to leave the country in recent years..The professionals most likely to seek to leave Spain were secondary school teachers, nurses and doctors, the Eurostat figures show. The United Kingdom was by far and away the most popular destination with 55 percent of applicants choosing that country. Germany and Italy both received 10 percent of all applications. Of the total of 18,408 people with Spanish qualifications who had those recognized overseas, 6202 were recognized as secondary school teachers in the UK and 887 were recognized as doctors in the UK. for full story see: The Local...

Xabia works to declare Loreto fireworks as "Fiesta de Interés Turístico"

Sept 1st
At the last council meeting, the Town Council agreed unanimously that Xabia should start the process of declaring the Loreto Fireworks as a Festival of Tourist Interest. From XAD: Xàbia inciará...

Xàbia demands information on unauthorised soundings for oil in the Gulf Of Valencia

Sept 1st
At the last Council meeting, Xàbia Town Hall expressed alarm after learning that unauthorised hydrocarbon surveys had been conducted near the Balearic island of Ibiza in April 2013. The revelation was exposed by various media and the protest group 'BALEARS DIU NO' who claimed that no official explanation had been received. The motion asked what control measures the Government has in place and what environmental impact the surveys may have had. It also reiterated Jávea's outright rejection of the search for oil in the Gulf of Valencia and the Balearic Islands and demands an immediate halt to the project and a meeting at the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism to address the issue and stop it while there are no agreements with the tourism sectors and with local and regional institutions. From XAD and Javeamigos

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