Staff at the regional HQ of INFOCA arrived to work this Saturday morning to find that crucial equipment had been stolen overnight. Investigations into all of the recent fires in the province have been set back as the data has now vanished.
Emergency equipment was lent by Granada and Jaen units to help Almería continue working until it can be replaced.
INFOCA is the forest fire fighting authority that unites civilian and military expertise and oversees efforts to put out wild fires across Spain.
Laptops, radios and PC’s were all stolen in a break-in overnight.
The equipment is valuable, not so much for its material value -replacement equipment is being sent out from Madrid today- but for the data files contained within. The equipment was being used to investigate the recent fires across the province, including yesterdays massive blaze in Lucainena de las Torres, which burnt at least 2,400 ha.The investigations will have to start from scratch in many cases, as projections, evidence and data has all vanished.