The Government delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana, presided on Thursday over the signing of the operational protocols for action in case of forest fires in areas of the Canary Islands where the Ministry of Defense carries out activities through the Land Army, the Navy and the Air and Space Army.

The signing ceremony, held in the Throne Room of the Government Delegation in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, was attended by the Councillor for Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Waters of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuel Miranda, and the Chief General of the Air Command of the Canary Islands, Major-General Francisco Javier Fernández, the Admiral Commander of the Naval Command of the Canary Islands, Rear Admiral Santiago de Colsa, and the Chief General of the 5th General Sub-Inspection of the Army, Brigade General Ignacio José Boudet.

These collaboration agreements aim to establish a procedure that allows a quick and effective response to the extinguishment of forest fires that may occur in forest lands used by the Spanish Army, the Spanish Navy or the Spanish Air and Space Army in the Islands, with the necessary support and coordination, if necessary, of the forest fire extinguishing device established in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands, allowing communication between the agencies involved.

“Our land is especially vulnerable to civil protection emergencies that create this risk. Climate change, the spread of forest masses and extreme weather conditions increase the possibility of large-scale fires affecting both natural heritage and strategic installations every year. Having a clear protocol shared by all administrations is therefore a matter of responsibility and foresight,” said the government delegate in the Canary Islands.

Anselmo Pestana stressed that “this agreement incorporates detailed procedures, updated contacts, digitized information media and immediate activation mechanisms that will allow the emergency teams of the Government of the Canary Islands, 112 and the Armed Forces to work in a perfectly coordinated way. If necessary, it also includes the intervention of the Military Emergency Unit, which will be integrated into the operational response if required by the evolution of events.”

For his part, the Minister of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Waters of the Government of the Canary Islands has pointed out: “Civil protection is, at its core, a shared task. That’s why these protocols not only regulate procedures, but also consolidate relationships, strengthen mutual trust and improve operability on the ground when every minute counts.”

“I especially appreciate the willingness of our Armed Forces, always committed to the Canary Islands, to adapt their procedures, open their facilities to civil coordination and join forces. And I also want to acknowledge the technical and rigorous work of all the teams that have made this agreement possible. Because protecting the Canary Islands—protecting our environment, our mountains and our environments—is not just an institutional obligation: it is an act of collective responsibility. And today, with these protocols, we reinforce that common commitment,” said Manuel Miranda.

According to Law 43/2003, November 21, of Montes, the responsibility to extinguish forest fires that may be registered in the lands where the Ministry of Defense carries out activities belongs to that Ministry, with the technical advice of the Ministry of Environment. Likewise, the regulation establishes that these territories will be provided with preventive infrastructures and extinguishing equipment in accordance with the technical plans approved by the Ministry of the Environment.

For this reason, the General Administration of the State has provided the facilities of the Ministry of Defense with forested land in the Archipelago with the most suitable means for fighting fires, in addition to strengthening their prevention capacity, through the development and implementation of the so-called Forest Fire Plans.

In the autonomous area, the functions of prevention and fight against forest fires in the field of forest services, livestock roads and pastures have been transferred through Decree 111/2002, June 9, to the Island Councils. In addition, in the field of civil protection for the risk of forest fires, Decree 60/2014, 29 May, is applicable, approving the Special Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Care for Forest Fires of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (INFOCA).

Thus, within the framework of the current legislation, the three protocols signed today, which are limited to spaces located in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, set out the procedures that will be followed when it is necessary to have in the areas where the Ministry of Defense carries out activities with the support of the device for the prevention and fight against fires of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands.

Among other issues, a system of warnings is established between both administrations when the fire starts, how the extinguishing device will be activated, the determination of the technical person responsible for the extinguishment or the process of alert and possibility of activation of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) by the procedures established for it.