Barcelona Province has launched its summer fire prevention and surveillance campaign, with 89 wardens deployed across 621,000 hectares from 17 June to 31 August. Announced in Masquefa, the plan involves an investment of more than €13 million and is aimed at preventing wildfires while reminding residents about safe behaviour in forest areas.
The campaign includes stronger support for Forest Defence Groups, known as ADFs, as well as measures to protect urban areas and improve prevention infrastructure. Officials presented parts of the plan during a helicopter flight for the media, including reinforcement of protection zones in 53 municipalities with a budget of about €2 million. These zones are clear strips of land around towns designed to help stop fires reaching built-up areas.
More than €1.5 million will go to the ADFs, volunteer groups that work on fire prevention and extinction. The funding will help them mobilise during periods of very high or extreme fire danger, and will support new vehicles, including vans and tanker trucks, machinery and equipment for their network of 125 surveillance cameras.
Jordi Fàbrega, deputy for fire prevention and forest management at the Diputació de Barcelona, said the province has conditions that make it especially vulnerable to fires. He said it has the highest concentration in Europe of demographic density and forest mass. He added that, because most fires are caused by people and climate change is part of the context, the situation is “radical”.
To reduce risk, the province has allocated about €2 million across 72 municipalities for adapting rural paths and installing water points in forest areas. The aim is to improve access and help firefighters during an incident. Fàbrega also said public education remains important, and that people need to recover “the culture of the forest”.
This year’s campaign also includes a new element, with team deployment adjusted to coordinate with different levels of African swine fever alerts affecting several municipalities in the province. It is the first time a health factor has influenced the deployment, which has usually been based only on fire risk assessments. In total, 285 local councils and 129 Forest Defence Groups are taking part in the summer plan, which now covers 99% of vulnerable areas in the province. More Catalonia news