The use of state media for fire extinction in the last decade widely exceeded in Castilla y León to that of the rest of autonomies with which it shares risks in terms of threatened forest mass, according to data from the Ministry of Ecological Transition (Miteco). The sum between the state aid supplied since 2015 to Andalusia, Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha, also very extensive and with wide forest masses, is practically equitable to that of Castilla y León.
After the wave of fire this summer, the third vice president and minister of ecological transition, Sara Aagesen, appears this Friday at Congress, after an intervention in the Senate at the end of August in which she already pointed out in this direction. He spoke there that it is a “structural fact” that with a similar forest surface percentage compared to the total of Spain “certain autonomous communities use most of the national device”, taking as reference the indicator of the flight hours. “Let’s reflect,” said Aagesen, “because autonomous communities with considerable forest surfaces have different results with the support and reinforcement that they receive not only from the Ministry of Ecological Transition, but also from the Ministry of Interior and Defense.”
Up to 600 troops of the forest fire reinforcement brigades (BRIF) plus 56 aircraft make up the ministerial reinforcement means to the communities. Almost half of that device acted last August about the more than 140,000 forest hectares burned in Castilla y León. The flames were primed over the provinces of León, Zamora and Palencia and, although in other territories there have also been multiple fronts, this autonomy has received the main support of the government with 47.9% of the 1,436 interventions carried out throughout Spain with these national resources. The second community that received more state support has been Galicia, which required 28%, also very affected by the flames. These data on the deployment contrasts with the statements of the President of the Community, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco (PP), who wields that they have a “sufficient” operation and that the meteorology overflowed it, although the Board had reports warning of a fatal context.
This territory is, in turn, the largest in Spain and concentrates 18% of the national forest area in its 5.1 million forest hectares, a growing figure for the depopulation and abandonment of the primary sector.
The Board has 23 aerial media to fight fire. The 17 autonomies total 214 aircraft for 56 support that the ministry puts. Castilla y León, therefore, has 10.8% of the total autonomous air media despite having 18% of the Spanish forest soil.
The records since 2015 reveal that in this period of time, Castilla y León, territory governed by the PP since 1987, has required 24.2% of the ministry’s brigades reinforcement hours: 12,134 of the 50,140 of the country. It is followed by Galicia, with 21.5% of the hours in the last 10 years (10,785) despite having just 7.1% of the state forest area. The Galician region has also needed special support this summer, with 405 interventions, 28.2% of the total, compared to 688 of the Tomaleco territory.
The Ministry has 11 BRIF bases, 3 of the 10 of the Peninsula are located in this community (León, Ávila and Soria). Some of these brigades ensure that the Board has such scarce means because they assume that in case of difficulties they will have the material and human resources of these three units. At the beginning of summer, the Association of Forest Firefighters of Castilla y León denounced that a fire in Cuéllar (Segovia) was controlled with the Ministry’s aerial means because the province did not have its own helicopter despite demanding it the autonomic fire law.
Mañueco first defended the existing autonomous devices against fire but, by increasing the crisis, he claimed more help to the State and criticized that he did not receive it with the necessary rapidity. However, on several occasions these extra services provided by the Ministry were not used.
Environment spokespersons of the Junta de Castilla y León allege that these means of the Ministry “are available to communities to be used when necessary” and that “rigorously follow the established protocols and, if necessary, the support of these state resources is requested.”
The Ministry of Environment recalls that they administer the most extensive community and with more forest area and that aspire to “forceful attacks in the first moments of a fire, which implies the mobilization of a significant number of media from the beginning”. “Castilla y León assumes their competencies in forest fires and gives the media operation that it considers appropriate, including complementary air resources,” they emphasize, and remember that this competition on the air media of fire extinguishing was reserved for the State.
Andalusia, with less forest area than Castilla y León (4.4 million hectares compared to 5.1 million) has 14 more aircraft. Castilla-La Mancha with a million and a half less than forest hectares that Castilla y León has the same aircraft against fire.
