The comfort of a fire during these long cold evenings is one of the advantages of living in rural Calasparra but keeping it burning all day and all night produces a lot of hot ash: what do you do with it?
Clearly what you don´t do with it is dump it, still smoldering, anywhere near wasteland or open countryside which could catch fire.
Incredibly, this practice, seems to be habitual for some residents on the urbanisations in Calasparra, who are not only likely to cause another devastating forest fire, but will face serious consequences under the law if they are caught.
Hot ash should be allowed to cool and then transferred to rubbish bags and dumped in the appropriate container. Under no circumstances should it be dumped on waste land, gardens or anywhere else where it might cause a fire.
If anyone needs reminding of the effects of forest fires here in Calasparra just look around you at the bald mountains, at the Sierra del Molino, at Salmerón where they have begun clearing the burned trees and debris from last year´s devastating fire.
A pile of hot ash and embers might seem harmless but in an area where sudden winds are prevalent and the lack of rainfall turns the the countryside into a tinderbox it is a criminal offence.
If there are any witnesses to this dangerous practice they are asked to report the culprits to the local police or the Forest Rangers and to report any fire immediately to the emergency services: it takes seconds to get out of control!
In the meantime enjoy your wood fires but please dispose of the hot ash responsibly and do not endanger our precious countryside.
