The action plan has been designed to anticipate risks in areas with the largest forest mass in the territory and to strengthen the response to any emergency. This deployment coincides with a complex statistical reality in the region, where official data from the Generalitat Valenciana indicate that human factors are behind 67.9% of forest fires.
The operation distributes its professionals with 724 people in the province of Valencia, 470 in Castellón, and 434 in Alicante, in addition to a contingent of 65 workers covering the entire Valencian Community. The staff includes forest firefighters, provincial consortia, municipal teams, environmental agents, preventive surveillance units, and technicians from the administration and the public company Vaersa. Materially, the protection of the mountains is supported by 56 ground forest firefighter units, 45 fire trucks, and six autonomous helicopter units.
The early detection system relies on a network of 42 forest observatories, ten of which maintain active surveillance 24 hours a day. To improve these facilities, the regional administration is investing 2.2 million euros from the Next Generation-EU funds in the renovation of ten strategic observatories, which will feature modernized infrastructure, their own weather stations, advanced communications, and energy self-sufficiency systems.
Preventive measures are particularly important when analyzing the causes of incidents in the region. According to the records of the Generalitat Valenciana, intentional fires represent the biggest problem, accounting for 37.9% of the total. Within this category, unknown motivations reach 12.48%, fires to control vegetation in agricultural practices account for 5.88%, and fires caused by revenge or conflicts stand at 5.30%. Furthermore, pathological pyromania is the cause of 4.31% of incidents, and vandalism or hooliganism results in 2.38%.
On the other hand, carelessness, accidents, and negligence account for 30% of the statistical breakdown by the Generalitat Valenciana. The use of fire in agricultural sector tasks stands out with 8.30%, while falling power lines, the use of tools, or vehicle accidents add up to 6.93%. The abandonment of bonfires and embers causes 3.63% of fires, machinery accidents 3.12%, and negligence associated with minors playing with fire represents 3.03%.
As part of direct on-the-ground measures, aerial resources will conduct preventive flights loaded with water and retardant along fixed routes in the regions with the largest forest mass. In parallel, the Policía de la Generalitat will maintain control patrols in recreational areas to monitor fire use restrictions and prevent incidents within natural parks. The coordination center for the 112 Comunitat Valenciana telephone line will also internally increase its staffing to support the social awareness campaign ‘I Say Stop to Fire’.
