The subdelegate of the Government in A Coruña, María Rivas, advanced today that the Government will make available to the Xunta about 4,000 troops and ten aircraft to collaborate in the device of prevention and extinguishment of fires in the time of maximum risk.
Maria Rivas detailed the personal and technical means that will bring together the ministries of Defense, the Interior and for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge and that also include agents of the Civil Guard, National Police and personnel of the Army of #Terra (Brilat, UME) and the Navy (North Third).
The subdelegate reiterated the commitment of the State with the Xunta de Galicia in the fight against fire with the cession of means to the summer campaign. “A commitment that is based on two fundamental pillars, cooperation between administrations to offer the best response and coordination of the available means to be effective in preventing and extinguishing fires,” he said.
María Rivas participated today in the meeting of the Integrated Committee for the Prevention of Forest Fires in Galicia, which will remain active until next September. After the meeting, he recalled that despite the fact that the Xunta has all the competences in the fight against the fires, it will have the support of the Army media, with the Brilat and the UME; the Northern Third of the Navy; the forest brigades and air media of the Miteco; the Police and the Civil Guard.
María Rivas highlighted the work of the state media in the fight against fires in Galicia, which, although it is more intense in summer, extends to the rest of the year.
On the part of the Ministry of Ecological Transition there will be three FOCA aircraft piloted by troops of the Military Emergency Unit (UME). In addition, there will also be the Forest Fire Reinforcement Brigade (BRIF) of Laza composed of 59 people. Two ground cargo aircraft with capacity for 2,400 liters and another coordination aircraft (ACO) for image recognition and collection, based in León, will also be available.
Regarding the means available by the Ministry of Defense, the subdelegate also announced that this summer Operation Sentinel will be activated again, an agreement thanks to which the Land Army and the Navy collaborate in fire prevention, with the Brilat and the Northern Third. María Rivas stressed that this is the only agreement that is signed this year in Spain, and that deploys in the Galician mountains 30 patrols daily for surveillance work.
In addition to this agreement, and as usual every year, the UME will transfer a platoon to the base of Figueirido, in Pontevedra. There will also be 500 troops of the battalion located in León, which is activated at the request of the Xunta de Galicia and the authorization of the Ministry of Defense. If necessary, EMU assets belonging to the other battalions could be transferred to Galicia.
As far as the Ministry of the Interior is concerned, the Civil Guard will deploy more than 2500 troops in 184 municipalities for action and prevention in forest fires. The deputy delegate of the Government stressed that this year for the first time the Civil Guard has a new protocol that will be activated in the face of the extreme risk alert and in which the helicopter unit, Seprona and the citizen security units will participate.
The National Police will collaborate with the usual media in the 14 municipalities assigned to it. It also incorporates means of the cavalry unit and makes available a helicopter based in Vigo.
“We are confident that the work of the administrations, collaboration and coordination will allow us a quiet summer. That prevention works with the means of the Xunta and the Government, and that the response to the fires is effective,” he concluded.
María Rivas thanked the professionalism and involvement of both the personnel working on this fire-prevention and extinguishing device, and the State security forces and bodies. He also had words of recognition to the population that he encouraged to continue collaborating, with responsibility and awareness.