At her own request and once the high risk season of forest fires ended, Minister María José Gómez recently appeared at the Parliament of Galicia to make a firefighting report which was carried out this year.
Between the months of January and October 2024, a total of 105 forest fires were recorded in Galicia, affecting 2,133 hectares, which represents the lowest figure in the last decade in our community. This was highlighted this afternoon by the Minister of Agriculture, María José Gómez, during her parliamentary appearance, at her own request, report on the results of the Forest Fire Prevention and Defense Plan of Galicia, once this year's high-risk season is over.
«These are the data of a job well done“Remarked the minister, who added that this effort “deserves not only the recognition of the Xunta and the party that governs, but of the entire Parliament unanimously”.
The head of Médio Rural began her speech by valuing and thanking the work of the staff sent by the Xunta to support the victims of DANA in Valencia. Thus, he emphasized that 80 of the 200 displaced personnel are part of the Prevention Service and defense against forest fires (SPIF) and also that the Rural Environment Department also mobilized thirty all-terrain vehicles, six motor pumps, an excavator, two tractors, a trailer and two nursing machines for these tasks.
Data by province of Galicia
Regarding the fire report itself, María José Gómez broke down the data by affected level and wooded areaas well as by provinces. In this way, he reported that the provincial territory with the most records in the aforementioned period from January to October was that of Ourense, with 37 fires and 898 hectares burned; then comes Pontevedra, with 31 fires and 700 hectares; Lugo, with 21 fires and 321 hectares and La Coruña, with 16 fires and 212 hectares affected.
Concerning the risk period (between July and September), the minister stressed that the the number of fires was the lowest in the historic serieswith 71 in total throughout Galicia and 1,407 hectares burned.
He also highlighted the downward progression recorded during this period in recent years, since in the last five years It went from just over a thousand fires to almost half (521 records, also including attempts and fires) and nearly 14,000 hectares affected to less than 2,000). All this, Gómez highlighted, although it recorded a summer classified as dry compared to the historical series of the last 30 years.
Concerning the fires recorded in October or even November, the minister mentioned three factors which directly influence them, such as the evolution of the weather situationwhat makes these months warmer than usual, seasonalization of fires and intentionality.
In any case, he stressed that, despite these Adverse circumstances, fire plans and personnel worked “with the greatest diligence” and placed particular emphasis on the reduction in reaction times recorded in recent years.
Regarding the effectiveness of the system, Gómez highlighted that it is based on four fundamental elements, human resources, technical resources, infrastructure and preventive measures. Concerning the first axis, the human factor, the minister underlined the commitment of the Xunta to their employment stability.
So that in 2024, two thirds of professionals have already been working for 12 months and a third did it this year for seven months, in 2025 there will be eight and nine months in 2026. He also focused on training, with a specific plan that, in the period 2025-2028, will have a budget close to 1 million euros each year.
Technical means to prevent forest fires
Regarding technical means, the head of the Rural Environment had a particular impact on the Central Coordination Center of forest fire defensewhich he described as unique in Spain and which is equipped with the latest technologies and designed according to the needs that arise in each fire. Among all these improvements, the video surveillance systems stand out, with 187 cameras that cover more than 85% of the forest area of the Galician community.
In the infrastructure aspect, the minister particularly mentioned air bases telles that Verín-Oímbraentered service this year, as well as the reinforcement of those of Muíños, Antela, Támega and O Barco de Valdeorras or the future installations of Lalín. He also highlighted the bases of the operational units known as BUOS, emphasizing that this year 1.5 million euros were allocated to those of Mondoñedo, Muíños and Rianxo and that in 2025 it will be the turn of Bande , which has an investment of 800,000 euros. .
Concerning prevention, Gómez mentioned the specific plan to promote these works which is integrated into Pladiga. In this sense, he highlighted that by 2025 the Xunta will increase the amount allocated for prevention to 50.5 million euros, with an additional 39 million for extinction.
He also estimated that more than 90% of Galician municipalities, “of all political colors”, adhere to the village protection agreement signed between the Xunta, the Galician Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (Fegamp) and the public company Seaga.
In the same area of prevention, the minister highlighted efforts in terms of complementary measures, such as mobilization tools. the law on the recovery of agricultural landthe Land Bank, pastures or even the Continuous Forest Inventory of Galicia.
The evolution of the climatological situation, seasonal adjustment Fire frequency and intentionality are three of the factors that have the greatest impact on recorded fires, in a year that has been benign in this sense.
