The Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, visited the facilities of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) in Torrejón de Ardoz, where she held a videoconference with its personnel.
The Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, during her visit to the UME facilitiesThe Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, during her visit to the Military Emergency Unit (UME) facilities in Torrejón de Ardoz.
TDB keeps you informed. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
The UME has been involved in extinguishing seven fires in Spain and two deployments abroad so far this summer
The Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, visited the facilities of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), where she was given an update on the Forest Fire Fighting campaign.
The minister was received on her arrival by Lieutenant General Francisco Javier Marcos Izquierdo, Head of the Military Emergency Unit, and Colonel Alberto Salas Méndez, Chief of Staff of the Military Emergency Unit. In the videoconference he then held with the troops deployed, Robles expressed his interest in the work carried out so far this summer and gave a very positive assessment of the collaboration with the administrations in the fight against the fire. She stressed the importance of the joint work carried out in Castilla La Mancha, Castilla y León, Aragón and Valencia.
We can congratulate ourselves because the situation this summer is not as serious as in other years,’ explained Margarita Robles, “but without forgetting to be grateful that, although it does not translate into interventions, the UME’s action has a great deal of work behind it, which is not visible, to be available at all times”.
At the moment, the Unit has 1,400 military personnel at the disposal of the State in direct attack on the fire and 1,500 military personnel in logistical support functions.
The current campaign to combat forest fires began on 1 June, a fortnight earlier than usual, and will last until 30 September, although it is planned to maintain surveillance until a fortnight later, assuming that temperatures remain high until then.
Since it began until today, the UME has intervened in seven fires in Spain: Chinchilla (Albacete), from 7 to 11 June; Los Alijares (Toledo), from 30 June to 1 July; Cerro Muriano (Córdoba), from 30 June to 1 July; Valverdejo (Cuenca), from 30 July to 1 August; Benasau (Alicante), from 30 July to 1 August; La Estrella (Toledo), from 6 to 7 August and Corbalán (Teruel), from 11 to 13 August.
Operations abroad
Likewise, the personnel of the Military Emergency Unit participated, as a liaison and advisory team, in the operations derived from Project RescEU in the two deployments carried out in Bulgaria by the 43rd Air Force Group of the Air and Space Army, in two periods, between 19 and 25 July, and between 3 and 11 August.
It should be remembered that the EMU is prepared to intervene in missions abroad through requests from United Nations agencies (OCHA), the European Union (RescEU Civil Protection Mechanism) or through bilateral cooperation and mutual assistance agreements.
Current situation and forecasts
EMU officials have stated that the number of fires and the area affected is below the average for the decade. The greatest dryness of fuel is in the southern half, except the Mediterranean area, which has seen a recovery in the state of the scrubland, although not in the state of the trees. In the Canary Islands, the dryness situation has improved, although only slightly.
According to weather forecasts from the State Meteorological Agency and the European Centre for Weather Forecasting, it is considered likely that the coming months will be warmer and drier than normal, both in Spain and throughout the Mediterranean area.
Given the above, it is considered likely that the forest firefighting campaign will continue to be moderate. Likewise, the greatest probability of intervention by the UME is shifted to areas of intervention from the Mediterranean arc to inland areas and the northwest of the peninsula (Orense, Zamora and Ávila). The area around the Sierra de Gredos mountain range is the focus of special attention, as well as the Canary Islands and Galicia, where the ‘Galician Sentinel’ and ‘Tenerife Sentinel’ operations have been activated for fire prevention surveillance and dissuasion.
In addition, as has been the case since the beginning of the campaign, the weather conditions and the behaviour of the fires will be constantly monitored to optimise the Unit’s response. For all these reasons, the necessary contacts will be maintained for activation and coordination with other units of the Armed Forces and civilian entities.