Bellaterra and the metropolitan area of Barcelona activate this weekend a special device to prevent forest fires. The main focus is on the Collserola Natural Park, where preventive maintenance work will be intensified.
Strategic cleaning in five districts
The actions will specifically affect the wooded areas of Gràcia, Horta-Guinardó, les Corts, Nou Barris, and Sarrià-Sant Gervasi. Workers will carry out tasks of clearing tall grass, pruning low branches, and systematically removing all accumulated dry or dead vegetation.
"These actions seek to minimize the spread of the fire during the critical period"
Said procedures aim to facilitate both permanent surveillance and the future firefighting work by the firefighters. It is estimated that three different teams will work simultaneously on the southern and southeastern slopes of the Catalan capital.
Each group will be assigned one third of the 66 hectares initially planned per month. This distribution allows for the optimization of human and material resources due to the proximity of high temperatures.
Schedule extended until the end of the year
The first operational stage spans from right now until the months of July and September. During these first six months, all forces will concentrate primarily on the Nou Barris district.
However, this prioritization will change radically with the arrival of the boreal summer. Once that initial temporal threshold is overcome, the brigades will move their center of gravity towards the municipal district of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi.
The complete calendar contemplates a pause after the summer peak of fire risk. Subsequently, activity will resume to definitively close the entire protectable perimeter before the end of the fiscal year 2026.
"The current sanitary regulations against African swine fever will be strictly maintained"
Despite the existence of general restrictions within the natural space due to the animal epidemiological outbreak, these interventions have been declared essential services. Therefore, they can be carried out by rigorously complying with all necessary deep cleaning protocols.