Virginia Barcones visits the BRIF of the Puerto del Pico on the occasion of the forest fire campaign

• The Abulense base is composed of 32 people and has air support to move where they are needed. In 2022 they participated in 37 fires and accumulated 179 hours of flight • Highlights that the State allocated in 2022 to Castilla y León 46% of the Government budget for reinforcement against forest fires, as well as 50% of the flight hours of its aircraft

July 11, 2023.- The delegate of the Government in Castilla y León, Virginia Barcones, visited today the BRIF of the Puerto del Pico on the occasion of the forest fire campaign to collaborate with the autonomous communities in the work of extinguishment. During his visit he recalled that climate change is a reality that provokes increasingly virulent and voracious fires.

The delegate of the Government has visited the base that the Forest Fire Reinforcement Brigades (BRIF) has in the Port of Pico. A base in which more than 32 personnel are working, supported by an air force whose task is to support the means of extinction of the autonomous communities, given that it is the autonomies that have the competences in matters against forest fires.

The BRIF based in the province of Buenos Aires is composed of 24 firefighters, four foremen and four technicians who share the work shifts and which has a helicopter as air support with a capacity of 1,200 liters. Throughout 2022 they participated in 37 fires, accumulating 179 hours of flight and 1,488 water discharges. To this work we must add the hours of training both on the ground with the brigadistas and in the air with the air support.

Virginia Barcones has said that climate change “is already here and is lethal.” In this regard, he has pointed out that in terms of fires it provokes fires that are increasingly virulent and voracious. Spain is no stranger to this reality, where last year more than 300,000 hectares were burned. “More surface was burned last year than in the 2018-2021 period as a whole,” he said.

He recalled that the largest fire of all recorded in Spain took place last year in Zamora, where 50,000 hectares were burned in the Sierra de la Culebra and its surroundings. He also explained that Ávila is no stranger to these fires because, although in 2022 6,647 hectares were burned, in 2021 it suffered the most serious in all of Spain with the 22,000 hectares burned in Navalacruz.

The Government delegate explained that the Government allocated 46% of the Government’s budget to Castilla y León for the reinforcement against forest fires, as well as 50% of the flight hours of its aircraft.

In this regard, he has highlighted the importance of the BRIF as an element of support for the means of extinction of the autonomous communities. Brigades that operate throughout the territory and are prepared to work in the most demanding conditions. “Yours is a hard and commendable job,” he said.

In this regard, he recalled that one of the four deaths in 2022 in the Zamora fires was a brigadist. It has also indicated that according to Civil Protection data, in 27 fires there were at least 92 people who needed health services for more or less serious conditions and that 48 of that total belonged to fire-fighting devices. In this regard, three of those attended took place in the province of Ávila, two brigadistas for smoke and light burns in the fire of Collado del Mirón, and a member of BRIF del Puerto del Pico in the fire of Santa Cruz del Valle.

FOREST FIRE REINFORCEMENT BRIGADES

The Forest Fire Reinforcement Brigades (BRIF) represent an element of support for the means of extinction of the autonomous communities. Brigades that operate throughout the territory and are prepared to work in the most demanding conditions.

The Government of Spain makes available to the autonomous communities the work of the BRIF, the air media of the Ministry of Ecological Transition (MITECO), the UME, the AEMET, and Civil Protection. To this means, we must add the work carried out by the Civil Guard through Traffic, SEPRONA and Citizen Security in the evacuation of areas where there may be danger for citizens.

At present, there are 10 BRIF bases located in areas with high fire risk and/or high forest wealth and which carry out extinguishment and prevention services.

Since the first two Reinforcement Brigades against Forest Fires (Huelva and Cuenca) were put into operation in June 1992, the magnificent result of these units motivated their expansion to form the current map of locations, progressively adding the rest of BRIF.

These units work practically the whole year: in extinction mode (from June to October) and the rest of the time, in complementary works such as silvicultural treatments, controlled burning, dissemination and citizen awareness.