Fire reopens old wounds in protected Ibiza wetland: ‘Everyone knows, but nothing ever gets fixed’

Marc Martí was furious last Monday. Standing beside the smouldering remains left by the latest fire in ses Feixes, as firefighters continued working to extinguish the final hotspots, the local resident and well-known defender of the protected area vented his anger in language too strong to reproduce.

“We have been dealing with this all our lives. It always looks as though they are going to sort things out, but nothing ever gets fixed here. As we say, they start at full gallop and come to a complete standstill. Everyone knows about it: the police, the politicians, the councils. They all know”, he told Diario de Ibiza the following day, slightly calmer but no less angry.

What everyone knows, he said, is that squatters have been living in this protected natural area for years.

Martí came across one of them, whom he suspects of causing the fire, after the flames had already been extinguished.

“I saw one of the squatters again and told him I never wanted to see him here again, that he should never set foot here for the rest of his life. It always seems as though something is going to be done, but then everything gets held up by bureaucracy. Come on, this is ridiculous”.

The resident’s anger stems from the fact that he has lived in the area for two decades and, according to him, “there is a fire every year”. Three years ago, a blaze broke out in exactly the same place.

This time, the flames burned through around 300 metres of land surrounding his home, where his mother-in-law and four-year-old daughter were at the time. They were caught by surprise while Martí was working on the other side of the island, unaware of the danger facing his family. It was not the first time this had happened.

“I was working in Cala Tarida, somewhere with no phone signal. When I moved to another spot, I saw that I had seven or eight missed calls and a load of messages”, he explained.

“My mother-in-law told me that the police and firefighters had just arrived at the house, and I told her to do what she did last time: open the doors and let them in. My house becomes their base of operations every time there is a fire".

“My mother-in-law ran out with the little girl. She did not even have time to put her shoes on. They were frightened. We were lucky the wind did not suddenly change direction because, otherwise, the fire would have headed towards the beach and burnt everything. These reeds are like petrol”.

Martí is clear about who he believes is responsible for the repeated threat to his family.

“The same plot burnt three years ago, and the owners have allowed it to fill up with rubbish again. It is their fault because they should keep their land clear and free of squatters. If the owners do not do it, the council should step in, clear the site and then send them the bill”.

Remove the squatters and fine the landowners

Two years ago, Marc Martí received a special commendation from environmental group Amics de la Terra for his work raising awareness of and defending ses Feixes.

The organisation’s president, Hazel Morgan, agrees that “the first thing that needs to be done is to remove the people living there in those conditions, surrounded by large amounts of flammable material”.

“The housing problem is obvious, but there is no excuse for accumulating so much rubbish that it can then cause a major problem”, she said.

“What the authorities should do is fine the landowner, because they are ultimately responsible for people living there, and somehow require the structures to be demolished because nobody can live in those… I do not even know what to call them. The owners are responsible for clearing the land and making sure this does not happen again”.

The association regularly organises visits for schoolchildren, during which they can see “some very beautiful things” and different species of birds, ducks and frogs. However, the children also have to “walk past these makeshift huts, which are clearly visible and in a terrible state of disrepair”.

“It is difficult to focus on the positive values of a place like this because that negative aspect also has an impact”, Morgan said.

The ses Feixes wetland is divided between the municipalities of Ibiza Town and Santa Eulària, where Monday’s fire occurred.

“On the Ibiza Town side, they have turned one property into a lake with several small islands where birds can be identified. It is fantastic”, Morgan said.

She suggested that Santa Eulària Town Council could purchase privately owned land within its section of the wetland to ensure that it is properly protected.

“It could be done with some of the millions we receive from the tourist tax. It is one possibility. I think the authorities could do quite a lot to prevent this from happening again. They are taking small steps, but very little is being done”.

Asked about the proposal, Martí said he did not believe it was viable because of the wide gap between the prices expected by landowners and those offered by the authorities.

“Nobody buys land here because the owners do not want to sell. The council wants to buy it for next to nothing, while the owners want to sell it for a fortune. As there is no middle ground, everything will always stay the same”.

Santa Eulària responds

Santa Eulària Town Council stressed that the recent fire occurred on privately owned land.

“The council does not have the authority to enter this type of plot and carry out clearance or vegetation-removal work, as this is the responsibility of the property owner or, where applicable, the people living there”, the local authority said.

The council also said municipal workers regularly clear vegetation and rubbish from public spaces across the municipality, including in this area, “with the aim of reducing the risk of fire, improving safety and keeping the surroundings in the best possible condition”.

It added that regular meetings are held with local residents, something Martí confirmed, to “gain a first-hand understanding of the situation in the area, as well as the main concerns and problems raised by residents”.

“One of the issues brought to the council’s attention was precisely the concern that a fire could break out in this area”, the local authority acknowledged.

It also reiterated “the importance of keeping plots and land properly cleared and maintained, particularly on private property, in order to minimise the risk and prevent situations that could endanger both people and the natural environment”.