The Generalitat de Catalunya has presented a new forest strategy to curb sixth-generation fires with 14 large containment axes spread throughout the territory. The plan will act on more than 224,000 hectares in Catalunya and foresees direct interventions in 35,000 hectares of forest.
The paradox facing the Government is that these fires, defined by their very rapid spread and unpredictable behavior, have already been detected in Catalonia, while the protection network is just beginning to be deployed. The objective of the new planning is to reduce the risk for some 850,000 people exposed to possible megafires.
The plan prioritizes the axis between Igualada, Martorell and Santa Coloma de Cervelló
One of the 14 confinement axes will cross the Igualada area. The Generalitat has also placed the section between Igualada, Martorell, and Santa Coloma de Cervelló among the first actions, within an initial package of five zones where work will begin immediately.
These agroforestry strips are designed to prevent fire from jumping between large forest masses. The strategy seeks to create containment spaces at points where a high-intensity fire can gain continuity and spread rapidly.
In this first phase, the administration has foreseen an initial investment of almost four million euros to begin work in the areas considered priorities.
The strategy will act on 224,000 hectares and protect 850,000 people
The scope of the plan goes beyond the areas where clearing or direct work on the forest will be done. The planning covers more than 224,000 hectares, although direct intervention will be concentrated on 35,000, with the intention of reinforcing the response to fires of great destructive capacity.
According to the Generalitat, the measure is designed to protect about 850,000 people. The figure gives territorial and human dimension to a strategy that is oriented towards municipalities and forest corridors where the advance of fire can compromise inhabited areas and evacuation routes.
The Bombers de la Generalitat place this planning among the main tools to reduce the effects of sixth-generation fires in the coming episodes. The device starts from a scenario in which Catalonia has already detected fires with that behavior pattern.
The new confinement axis network adds 14 corridors and one of them will pass through the Igualada area, one of the points included in the immediate start of the strategy.