Almería wildfire: an abandoned utility pole, a solar plant and plenty of silence

Almería wildfire: an abandoned utility pole, a solar plant and plenty of silence

The flames that ravaged more than 1,000 hectares in Los Gallardos (Almería, Spain) left foreign victims and an investigation pointing to a disused utility pole. The Guardia Civil (Spanish Civil Guard) found "clear evidence of current" in the pole at the Anita bar, abandoned since 2009 and with no contracted supply. Endesa and Red Eléctrica wash their hands of it: they deny responsibility while the evidence points the other way. Yet the big headlines never ask why that pole was still live or why nobody dismantled it.

A photovoltaic business on the ashes

Since 2023, Spain's Official State Gazette has listed a solar plant project right in the burned area. The coincidence raises suspicions: chance, or a plan made easier by fire? While minister Bolaños blames the severity on climate change, the data point to abandoned electrical infrastructure and a lack of prevention that nobody wants to own up to. Clearing brush and inspecting obsolete poles costs a pittance compared with the wildfire bill, but responsibilities dissolve among administrations.

The climate narrative as a smokescreen

Those who question the official version point out that the climate change discourse serves to divert attention from specific negligence: a ghost restaurant that was still consuming electricity, a solar plant that would benefit from scorched land, and victims who barely appear in the press. The judicial investigation is barely moving forward, and the Junta de Andalucía (Andalusia's regional government) looks the other way. The mainstream media's silence on the fire's electrical origin has a political price: justifying the "climate racket", as some call the framework that links every natural disaster to global warming.

The fire has been put out, but the questions are still burning. Who answers for Anita's pole? Who benefits from a wildfire on land suitable for photovoltaics? Until the Guardia Civil closes its report, the smoke keeps reality out of sight.