From Cantabria they announced that the Forest Fire Fighting Plan of the Foral Community for next year will be based on an investment that is expected to be around 8.4 million euros and will have the objective, both prevention and harm reduction that these fires can cause.
The Official Gazette of Cantabria (BOC) today published the resolution of the Ministry of Rural Development, Livestock, Fisheries and Food approving the Annual Plan for Combating Forest Fires of Cantabria for 2025, which plans an investment of more than 8.4 million euros for minimize ecological damageeconomic and social produced by forest fires in the Autonomous Community.
Forest fire measures
Among the measures that should be implemented, guarantee adequate territorial coverage of fire trucks and vehicle fleets; review the need for aerial resources and complete the network of charging points; improve the communication system; implement a continuing education program to staff of the Forest Fire Fighting Operationand ensure the provision and correct use of personal protective equipment.
Also advance in the investigation into the causes of forest fires and their motivations; improve the financing line dedicated to collective investments; implement agro-environmental commitments on agricultural areas, as well as maintaining and improving habitats and traditional agricultural activities which preserve biodiversity, and integrate innovative grazing systems and clearing actions and the improvement of pastures to obtain a productive forest, rich in biodiversity and resilient to fires.
Likewise, formulate a technical protocol aimed at determining burned areas that require restoration actions; execute the designed restoration actions and investments in public forests to improve trails; manage forest resources and prevent fires.
Within the framework of the Strategic Plan for Prevention and Fight against Forest Fires of Cantabria 2023-2027, the objective of this annual plan for 2025 is that the percentage of wildfires that manage to stay burningthat is to say on an area less than one hectare, is higher than the average of the last 10 years, which is 27.6%.
The new Plan concludes that in recent years the majority of them are intentional and that their main motivation lies in avoiding the clearing associated with livestock practices, and the number of forest fires has almost doubled in Cantabria, going from 565 recorded in 2018 to 959 occurring in 2022, the western and eastern interior zones being those which more and more forest fires persist and municipalities as Vega de Pas, Soba, Cabuérniga, Rionansa, Selaya, San Roque de Riomiera, Miera and Los Tojos together represent more than 50% of the burned area between 2018 and 2022.
Concerning their monthly distribution, the months of February, March and April accumulate more than 65% of recorded fires and almost 70% of the burned surface, fires being recorded at all periods of the year, and most of the time. recorded forest fires do not exceed 25 hectareseven if 3 large fires of more than 500 hectares were recorded between 2018 and 2022, which affected more than 2,000 hectares.
The new Plan sets periods of danger of forest fires for all of Cantabria the period between February 1 and April 30, and from August 1 to October 15 for the regions of Liébana, Campoo and Los Valles, taking into account that these periods of danger may be lengthened, shortened or other periods may appear according to each year. .
In such a situation, the Plan establishes a series of preventive measures, such as mandatory authorizations for the use of any type of fire, both on urban and rural land; measures to protect property of cultural interest; inclusion of fire risk in municipal intervention guides; self-protection plans against the risk of forest fire; update data regarding periods of danger and risk of forest fires; information of the population; drilling program; exercise and training program; checks; periodic and extraordinary examinations and a training plan.
It also determines bans on the use of fire, regulates social use and public access during periods of forest fire risk and provides for a series of actions to mitigate and adapt forest ecosystems, clearing programs with aids for improvement and sustainable use of forests for local public entities and private entities, as well as aid for the promotion and extraction of biomass, as well as aid for the improvement of common use meadows on public lands.
The Forest Fire Plan aims to considerably reduce the number of fires, by achieving prevention, information and cleaning and that in the event that they occurred, the fires would only remain incipient.
