The government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, committed the support of the Government of Spain to the Xunta in the task of protecting the Galician forests against fires during this summer, bringing “the means that are necessary” of the operation designed at national level.
He conveyed this today at the constitutive meeting of the Integrated Fire Prevention Committee of Galicia (CIPIG), which was held this morning in Santiago with the assistance of the Presidential and Rural Councillors and different representatives of the Ministries of the Interior, Ecological Transition and Defense.
At the meeting, Pedro Blanco certified the commitment of the Government of Spain to the Xunta de Galicia in the fight against fire through human, air and technological means that it offers from today and that will extend, in many cases, until the month of October. In total, the Government-committed device provides about 4,000 troops between the Military Emergency Unit (UME), the Civil Guard, the Forest Fire Brigade (BRIF) of Laza and comprehensive prevention teams (EPRIF), the Northern Third of the Navy and Land Army, the Civil Guard and the 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 in some cases.
Regarding the technological means, he indicated that in addition to the 30 drones that will participate in the monitoring of the mountains, the UME terrestrial attack drone will be available. Along with them, the Xunta will be able to make use of the images of the Copernicus satellite surveillance system through the General Directorate of Civil Protection of the Ministry of the Interior.
Although this is the initial deployment, the delegate insisted that “the Government designed a national eremu campaign in which the response is coordinated and unique, and if necessary, the means deployed in other communities would move to Galicia”.
The delegate said that the ‘Galician Sentinel Operation’ will be renewed, which this year will raise to 35 the Army patrols that will monitor the areas with greater incendiary activity. They will also repeat the Civil Guard and National Police horseback patrols for their ease in patrolling through forest areas.
Also as a novelty, the Ministry of the Interior will facilitate the displacement of three extinction teams from the Netherlands and Estonia, which will be in Galicia for fifteen days each, to learn and collaborate on the device.
Coordination and responsibility
Pedro Blanco valued the good cooperation between the Government and the Xunta in this device, which shows year by year a high degree of coordination, and which is based on the great professionalism and involvement of all the people and institutions involved in it.
Thus, he pointed out that in the year 2024, the state media recorded 135 interventions in the extinguishment of forest fires in Galicia, in a total of 41 fires. The hours flown in these extinctions were 315:12 hours. This represents 15.65% of fires served nationwide and 14.22% of hours flown with respect to the national total.
The most serious fire was the one that occurred in the month of September in Crecón (Pontevedra), in which the Military Emergency Unit was activated. At the police level, last year Guardia Civil detained/investigated 41 people in Galicia accused of carrying out forest fires.
All these data were given in a campaign in which Spain recorded the lowest number of fires since 1983. The forest area affected in the year 2024 was 47,711.13 hectares of which in Galicia added 2,643.75 ha. (5.54% of national data).