Walter Finch
The Junta de Andalucia has upgraded the alert level for the risk of forest fires from low to medium due to high temperatures and severe drought.
The move comes 15 days earlier than in previous years amid fears that the summers are coming earlier and hotter each year.
The Minister of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, also signed an order to extend the ban on agricultural burning until April 24 to prevent any potential fire risks.
The government has increased human and material resources available to fight against fires, with 2,500 personnel and eight aircraft already available, which will be joined by two helicopters from April 15 and six more from May 1.
From January 1 to Tuesday April 11, the Junta’s Infoca Plan has already been put into effect in 113 forest fires, affecting 166 hectares of land.
However, the recent fires in Cantoria, Jimena de la Frontera, and Tarifa have affected around 303 hectares, according to initial estimates.
This year, the Infoca Plan has intervened more frequently than in the last ten years, but there has been less area affected by fires, with 166 hectares compared to the average of 587 hectares.
The Infoca Plan is a forest fire prevention and extinction plan created by the government of Andalusia, Spain.
It is designed to prevent forest fires from starting, to quickly detect and report fires when they do start, and to mobilise the necessary resources to extinguish fires as quickly and safely as possible.
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