A land clearing it is essential to avoid and reduce the risk of fires. Every year with the approach of summer, the fires start, some of which have a criminal hand, but others are merely human negligence. In this sense, the Government has sought to combat this natural catastrophe, namely, awareness and prevention of fire risks that exist if certain precautions are not taken.
Land clearing: what recommendations should you follow?
If you have land close to your home or populations, must proceed with the cleaning of the grounds. If you do, the fire has less to expand. On the other hand, residential areas are more protected and fire fighting is easier. In short, land clearing, can not only save property but also lives.But, in addition to clearing the land, there is a set of precautions that must be taken into account in order to avoid the fires. “Portal Chama” gives some advice, namely:Create a strip of one to two meters with non-flammable flooring around the house;Do not have flammable material around the house;Do not accumulate firewood near the house;Be aware of the risk of fire in your area of residence (you can consult the updated information on the IPMA website); Check that the irrigation system and hoses are working; Finally, clean the roofs and place a spark arrestor net.
Who is most at risk?
In reality, those who have a house in the countryside or in the forest are more subject to a fire given their proximity to vegetation. Like this, the best way to avoid this is to clean the land (Clear all vegetation around your house). In this way, you protect yourself and your property as well.
Land clearing: what does the law say?
O regulation no. 627/2022 came to oblige the owners to clean the land in a range of:50 meters around the houses; and 100 meters around the population clusters. As already mentioned, this work must be done by the end of the month, that is, until April 30th. If you haven’t already, what are you waiting for? This is what Portal Chama tells us, which, in addition to warning about compliance with deadlines, also says the following:From that date onwards, Municipal Councils can replace landowners in clearing the undergrowth. Owners are obliged to allow access to their land and pay the expenses to the Council. Even so, please note the following: Clearing the land does not mean removing all vegetation. In other words, we must respect the legally protected species, such as: the cork oak; the holm oak; among others. In the particular case of these trees, you can only cut them if you have authorization from the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF). Then there are the so-called “trees of public interest ” that also need to be protected. We have the case of some olive trees (given their antiquity). However, these species are duly marked with an identification plate.
What are the mandatory measures to take?
In addition to the precautions that thecommon sense” manda ter, there is a set of mandatory measures according to the law. They are: You must create a vegetation management strip of 50 meters (forest territories) or 10 meters (agricultural territories), from the exterior masonry of your house. The width of the lanes may change by 50% taking into account the risk of danger and rural fire, being defined in the Sub-Regional Programs. To do this, get in touch with your City CouncilCut the branches of the trees up to 4 meters above the ground and keep them awayat least 4 meters from each other (10 meters in the case of pines and eucalyptus). Cut trees and bushes less than 5 meters from the building and make sure that the branches do not protrude over the roof. Finally, it is mandatory to make tree cleaning and cutting 100 meters around villages, campsites, industrial parks, logistics platforms and sanitary landfills.ardins and agricultural areas (unless they are fallow or permanent pasture), are not obligated compliance with the previous measures provided they are properly maintained. Also read: Land registration: Why should I register my land by 2023?
What happens if I don’t clear land?
If you do not clear the land within the legal period, you will be subject to fines who can reach: 5 thousand euros for natural persons; or 25 thousand euros for collective persons.
Can you appeal the fines?
Upon receiving the notification, you should always check the deadline mentioned therein. This is if, for some reason, you do not agree with the administrative decision and want to appeal. According to the law, “the interested parties have the right to react against administrative decisions that show some kind of weakness. For this purpose, they must present an application, through which they can expose the grounds invoked, as well as add the evidence considered relevant”.
Who is responsible for ensuring compliance with the law?
If the owner of the land does not carry out the proper cleaning within the legal periodit is up to the municipal council to ensure the cleanliness of the land.In order to control possible non-compliance as well as contact the owners, city councils have access to the following information: the tax data of the buildings; the identification of the owners and the respective tax domicile; and also, the information contained in the Branch database Unique to the Building. Thus, if the owners of the land do not clean the land and respective surrounding areas, the chambers must notify and inform them of the procedures that follow.Consequently, in that notification, Municipalities must inform landowners the following: the cleaning of land to be carried out by the council, with the right to enter the areas to be cleaned; and inform that, if necessary, they can resort to the use of security forces.
What if the whereabouts of those responsible are unknown?
In this case, if the owner of the land is unknown and there is no way to notify him in another way, then you can resort to the public notice posted on the site and website of the city council for a period of five days. If the owner does not respond after five days, the council will start the cleaning work. Finally, the notification must also state that the owner must pay the council for cleaning costs. If the owner of the land does not pay, a tax enforcement process will be initiated for the coercive collection of amounts.
How to make a complaint about an uncleaned land?
If you become aware of any case of non-compliance, you must immediately notify the competent authoritiesi.e.: GNR; Or city hall. Alternatively, you can make the complaint by:
Land clearing: How will the inspection take place?
In order for compliance with the law to become more and more a reality, there must be supervision by the competent authorities. This takes place in two stages, namely:
First phase
The first phase begins in May and runs until the end of that month. At this stage, the priority goes to the inspection of all owners, tenants, usufructuaries and other entities who hold land adjacent to: buildings located in rural spaces – within a range of 50 meters;and population centers, campsites, industrial parks, logistics platforms and sanitary landfills in forest areas – within a range of 100 meters.
Second level
In the second phase, inspection focuses only on:road and rail networks;electricity transmission and distribution lines; finally, in natural gas transmission linesThe Government has already released the list of 998 priority parishes for inspection. In any case, inspection within the scope of the Integrated Management System for Rural Fires will always be present, especially in the areas usually most affected by fires.Read more: Buying land: What to consider? The information contained in the article is not binding and does not invalidate the full reading of documents that support the matter in question.
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