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Barcelona Provincial Council warns of 2,500 illegal dumps aggravating fire risk

The Provincial Council of Barcelona's summer forest fire campaign focuses on prevention and land management.

Generic image of a Mediterranean forest with trash and fire risk.
IA

Generic image of a Mediterranean forest with trash and fire risk.

The Provincial Council of Barcelona has launched the 30th edition of its Forest Fire Information and Surveillance Plan (PVI), including an awareness campaign to combat illegal dumping.

The Provincial Council of Barcelona has launched the 30th edition of its Forest Fire Information and Surveillance Plan (PVI), an initiative that will run from June 17 to August 31. This summer campaign, with a budget of 1.8 million euros, aims not only for active surveillance but also for public awareness to prevent forest fires, especially in a context marked by climate change.
The Operational Plan for Public Information and Awareness on Forest Fires (PICFOR) will mobilize 89 professionals who will cover 621,039 agro-forest hectares, representing 99% of the vulnerable areas in the province. These teams will work in shifts from 1 PM to 8 PM, the peak risk hours, divided into three geographical sectors: North, Center, and South.
This year, the distribution of units has been reconfigured to adapt to alerts for African swine fever, in coordination with other administrations. Additionally, a team of engineers from the Council will be on call from May to September to support municipalities in case of major fires.
The Deputy for Fire Prevention, Jordi Fàbrega, highlighted the combination of "Europe's highest demographic concentration with a large forest mass" and the climate change context as critical factors. He emphasized that prevention is a task "throughout the year," including forest management, maintenance of water tanks and roads, and the creation of protection strips around urban areas.
Fàbrega also pointed out the increase in human presence in natural environments post-pandemic, which has led to "over 2,500 illegal dumps" detected last year in the metropolitan area. To address this, the Council has promoted aid for municipalities to remove and manage this waste.
The PVI, with 30 years of history, collaborates with 285 municipalities and 129 Forest Defense Groups (ADF), with a budget of 1,809,000 euros for civic agents, support to ADFs, waste removal, and video surveillance.
Land management and fire prevention are year-round strategies. Programs such as the Forest Restoration and Improvement (RMF) program finance actions to reduce fuel load, with an investment of 4.1 million euros for 2026. The prevention program in urban areas (PPU) supports the creation of protection strips, while the infrastructure program (PPI) finances the maintenance of forest roads and water supply points.

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