The Valencian Government has launched an extraordinary operation to prevent and extinguish forest fires during Holy Week and Easter. The operation will consist of: 1.357 effective and will be deployed between the 17 and 28 for April, in coordination with the Ministries of Emergencies and the Interior and the Environment.
Presentation of the plan and territorial distribution
This was announced by the Minister of Emergencies and the Interior, Juan Carlos Valderrama, and the Minister of the Environment, Vicente Martínez Mus, during the campaign presentation, following the coordination meeting held at the Calles forest fire station.
The device will have 467 troops in the province of Valencia, 338 in Alicante y 552 in Castellón. It includes 56 land units of forest firefighters of the Generalitat (45 of them with fire engines), 6 heliborne units and personnel from the provincial fire consortiums and municipal bodies.
Reinforcement of 112 and preventive control
The emergency service 112 Valencian Community will strengthen its staff by 3% on average during the operation. In addition, the Police of the Generalitat will deploy units to carry out preventive surveillance in recreational areas and supervise the proper use of fire in natural parks.
Actions at the maximum pre-emergency level
During this campaign the corresponding measures will be applied pre-emergency level 3, the province with the highest risk of forest fires. Reconnaissance flights have been planned with aircraft loaded with water and fire retardant, with specific routes through the three provinces, especially in areas with greater forest cover.
Minister Valderrama indicated that the operation will also have the support of municipal firefighters from the provincial capitals and the State Security Forces. In the event of adverse weather forecasts, security shifts at the parks will be reinforced.
Structural improvements and new resources
For his part, Minister Martínez Mus emphasized that this campaign allows for optimized response capacity and coordination between administrations, and he recalled that prevention "is a constant task, regardless of the seasons or the climate."
In addition, he stressed that this year they will be incorporated 66 forest observatories, adding to the 270 human resources strategically distributed throughout the Valencian Community, which will allow early warnings to be activated in the event of any fire outbreak.
He also reported that the actions will be conditioned by the consequences of the floods last October. A shock plan endowed with 93 million euros to repair damaged infrastructure in terms of prevention, such as landslides, forest tracks and collapsed water passages.
'Stop al foc 2025': raising public awareness
The campaign was presented during the event 'Stop the fire 2025', focusing on the emotional value that citizens place on the natural environment. According to Martínez Mus, the goal is to strengthen this sense of belonging to forests and ensure that fire prevention "ceases to be a reaction to emergencies and becomes a daily commitment shared by the entire society."
