The Generalitat de Catalunya faces the 2026 forest campaign with a reinforced device and with the simultaneity of fires as the main operational risk. The Minister of the Interior and Public Security, Núria Parlon, presented the deployment this Friday at the Sabadell airport, in a context marked by high temperatures and accumulated vegetation after a rainy winter and spring.
The point of greatest tension comes after a previous campaign with 2,168 vegetation fires and 8,615 hectares burned, even though 86% of the fires affected less than one hectare. Parlon also warned that nine out of ten fires have a human origin and asked for extreme caution.
The previous campaign left 2,168 fires and strained the system due to the coincidence of fires
The Government is planning this year's operation with the experience of last summer, when the coincidence of several fires tested the response capacity. This simultaneity is once again the main challenge for emergency services.
The preliminary conditions also complicate the start of the campaign. Winter and spring rains caused vegetation to grow, which then dried out due to strong winds in March and April, so there is now more fuel available in the territory.
"We will work with the best available resources and with maximum coordination between Bombers de la Generalitat, Agents Rurals, Protecció Civil, and the rest of the involved services to provide the best possible response, especially in situations of simultaneous fires, which is what most strains the system" - Núria Parlon, Minister of the Interior and Public Security, Generalitat de Catalunya
Parlon framed the deployment within the Government's new sustainable forest management strategy, which incorporates fire containment axes as infrastructure to limit the spread of fire.
Bombers de la Generalitat reaches 2,883 personnel and deploys 30 aerial resources
Since 2024, the corps has incorporated 328 new professional firefighters, reaching 2,883 personnel. Of that total, 2,708 are men and 175 are women.
The volunteer staff also grows. The active section adds 83 more volunteer firefighters, reaching 1,395, while the Forest Campaign reinforcement personnel goes from 465 to 475.
In the air, the device will have 30 aerial means for the forest campaign, of which 28 will be based in Catalunya. The deployment includes four rescue and salvage helicopters, six coordination helicopters, and ten bomber helicopters.
To that structure are added eight surveillance and attack planes and two Focas seaplanes from the Air Force, based in Saragossa and Pollença. Each of those aircraft can transport more than 3,500 liters of water.
In addition, twenty-five drones are already part of the operation of the emergency services to improve the response to forest fires.
In the previous campaign, 8,615 hectares burned, and the services registered 62.6% more vegetation fires than in 2024.