Generalitat predicts a long hot summer and warns of increased risk summer for forest fires

THE Generalitat has allocated €80 million to fighting forest fires this summer.
The fire-fighting campaign will continue until November with 1,000 professionals trained to act once a fire is detected.
The budget and number of firefighters are similar to last year’s announced Gabriela Bravo, who heads the regional government’s Interior and Justice department.
Bravo revealed during a video-conference meeting with the Press that this could be a high-risk summer for forest fires.
Persistent rain this spring brought “far more” vegetation and undergrowth, added to which it promises to be “a long summer with high temperatures,” she added.
The Interior and Justice principal also pointed out that owing to the Covid-19 health crisis, more tourists were expected in the Valencian Community’s inland and mountain areas.
Meanwhile Diego Martin, director-general of the Generalitat’s Fire Prevention department, announced that another 500 people will be employed as firewatchers this summer.
Martin also revealed that work continued throughout lockdown on clearing woodland paths and roads that were affected by last winter’s storms and whose good condition is vital both for preventing and controlling fires.