The Generalitat de Catalunya has initiated prevention work for large forest fires in the Girona neighborhoods located next to the forest, with actions in Girona Nord, Taialà, el Polvorí, Font de la Pólvora, and la Creueta. The objective is to prepare these strips to hinder the advance of fire and facilitate the intervention of extinction teams before the summer campaign.
The novelty of the deployment is in the chosen location. The Government's forest planning had previously prioritized large massifs, but the new strategy enters urban and peri-urban areas where the mountain and homes share a border, a particularly sensitive point when a fire breaks out.
The Generalitat acts on 88 hectares next to five Girona neighborhoods
The intervention is part of the Girona-Celrà confinement axis of the Government's new forest strategy. This corridor runs through the city from north to south and also affects surrounding municipalities such as Sarrià de Ter, Sant Julià de Ramis, Palol de Revardit, Celrà, and Quart.
In total, the two planned projects add up to approximately 88 hectares of action in the Girona area. Of this surface, about 70 hectares correspond to Girona Nord, el Polvorí, Font de la Pólvora, and la Creueta, while almost 18 are located in Girona Oest-Taialà.
The joint budget amounts to 380,776 euros, according to the Government's technical documentation. The work begins on public land belonging to the Generalitat and the Girona City Council, although the planning also incorporates private properties.
The administration has promoted the project with the collaboration of the city council, the ADFs, forest owners, and the Provincial Council. The department also opens the door for owners of plots interested in carrying out preventive work on their land to join.
The work seeks to stop the passage of fire from the ground to the treetops
The planned tasks consist of removing undergrowth, thinning tree density, pruning low branches, and eliminating vegetation debris. With this combination, the device attempts to reduce fuel continuity and prevent a fire from easily jumping from the ground to the treetops.
Miriam Sangerman, head of the Forests and Forest Resources section of the territorial services of Agriculture in Girona, explained that the objective is to make these spaces more "fireproof". The official added that this line of work allows intervention in areas where fire prevention by the Generalitat had not been a priority until now.
The execution calendar depends on the period of maximum fire risk, although the Government's intention is to move forward before summer. The administration's forecast is to maintain this planning on a continuous basis and extend it year by year over the entire planned area.
The Generalitat's own planning estimates that it will take about six years to act on the entire area included in this prevention axis.