Abel Losada highlights the “total collaboration” of the Government of Spain with the Xunta in the fight against fire

The subdelegate of the Government in Pontevedra, Abel Losada, presented this morning together with conselleira del Medio Rural, María José Gómez, and @o xeneral of the Brigade "Galicia" VII (BRILAT), Alfonso Pardo de Santayana, the Galician Sentinel Operation 2024. The subdelegate of the Government stressed that “one more year and as they have been doing since 2007, the Armed Forces will collaborate in the fight against forest fires in our territory, within the framework of the agreement signed with the Xunta de Galicia and showing the commitment of the Government to respond to this problem through cooperation between administrations.”
Losada reported that this year the Government makes available to the Xunta about 4,000 troops, among the UME, Civil Guard, Forest Fire Brigade (BRIF) of Laza, North Third of the Navy and Army of #Terra, Civil Guard and National Police. As in previous years, there will be a dozen aircraft, including aircraft, helicopters, light and reconnaissance aircraft, that will be deployed throughout the summer and that will remain until October 31. Not respecting the technological means, he indicated that in addition to the 30 drones that will participate in the monitoring of the mountains through Operation Sentinel, a new terrestrial attack drone will be available that has just been acquired by the Military Emergency Unit.
Precisely, the deputy delegate defended and valued the work of the UME “in the fight against forest fires and in other crisis situations”. “This unit is always applauded for its interventions, which shows that its creation was an enormous success, despite the fact that at the time it was questioned by some political sectors,” he said.
The subdelegate stressed the “effective and exemplary trajectory” in the protection of our mountains and the citizenship of the operative Galician Sentinel, which led to the creation this year in the Canary Islands of the operative “brother” Centinel Canario, who will act in the archipelago during this summer.
Thus, in 2024, the Armed Forces will deploy in the framework of this operation a total of 30 patrols and unmanned aerial means of the army of #Terra with the objective of carrying out surveillance, deterrence and fire prevention work in 39 Galician municipalities, spread over a total of 8 forest districts covering 4,414 square kilometers.
Among the functions of these patrols, whose number can be expanded to 75 in the case of maximum—currently medium—level of effort, are to monitor and maintain a deterrent presence in the assigned areas, provide information to the extinguishing services and notify Security Forces and Corps of those people who may be involved in the provocation of intentional fires. In this sense, the subdelegate wanted to recall the “fundamental work that they also carry out in the fight against forest fires to the Civil Guard and the National Police”.
Finally, Losada stressed the importance of “maintaining collaboration and interinstitutional cooperation so that the prevention and fight against fires is effective.”
Operation Sentinel will run from August 15 to September 30 , with the possibility of extension depending on the circumstances.