The President of the Principality, Adrián Barbón, visits the areas burned by a fire in Las Regueras, near Oviedo, on April 9 Eloy Alonso (EFE)
The regional government will request the declaration of Asturias as an area seriously affected by a civil protection emergency, as it is currently known as a disaster area, after the severe fires that have devastated 32,000 hectares. To this end, it has initiated a procedure to collect information on all affected assets, which will run until April 30th. In addition, the Principality will introduce changes to the current regulation that will affect both the surveillance and the prevention and extinguishing of fires. The Forest Act is renamed the Forest Fire Prevention and Forest Act.
These are the first administrative consequences after the fire devastated more than 32,000 hectares in the past few weeks and caused economic damage of over one hundred million euros. Some fires mostly premeditated and for which the public prosecutor’s office is already processing fifteen complaints against suspected arsonists.
The Asturian Executive immediately adopts a new Fire Safety Decree. This text will pay special attention to the land close to the population, where there are more risks to life, homes and property. It also envisages policies for cities to protect themselves by improving the management of forest resources or training neighbors and coordinating civil protection agencies.
The Minister of Rural Environment, Alejandro Calvo, explained that all aspects related to the forest-city interface, where there are more risks to life, houses and property, will be reviewed. “In the transition zones, we will propose the use of native or leafy limited-strip species to improve fire defenses. It is also reforested with species that have high regenerative capacity.”
Regarding surveillance and control, the Minister of the Asturian Presidency, Rita Camblor, announced the intention that the agents of the forest brigades will have the category of investigators. These brigades submitted 111 files to the prosecutor’s office between 2019 and 2022, and 65 investigations are currently ongoing.
relief plan
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The Government of Asturias will provide forest management and development grants in the coming weeks, aimed at both individuals and local entities, which will allow the reforestation of all affected areas with a 100% subsidy. The line for individuals 2023 will be endowed with 4 million, which can be expanded to 5.5. A tender of 700,000 euros is planned for local institutions, which in turn can be increased to up to 850,000. In addition, there will be funding from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, which will allow all precise reforestation needs to be completed.
The principality has already made 2.4 million available to municipalities and local bodies in fire safety aid and will activate in May the new prevention fund included in this year’s budgets, totaling 4.5 million and doubling that of municipalities funds made available will allow for this purpose. This new fund, which includes a more flexible management system than the current one, is multiannual (2023-2025) and reaches an endowment of 13.5 million co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
The President of Asturias, Adrián Barbón, has assured that “the granting of aid will proceed as quickly as possible and all the necessary resources will be used for the reconstruction of Asturias”. The intention confirmed by the Asturian government is that the direct aids between 500 and 1,200 euros per hectare authorized for the owners of the devastated mountains, be they individuals or the municipalities themselves, can be paid out between the months of May and June.