Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

The Civil Protection, Prevention, Fire Extinction and Rescue Service (SPCPEIS) is launching the pre-campaign for the prevention of forest fires tomorrow. The pre-campaign period has been brought forward by two weeks owing to the situation in the Collserola mountain range, where low humidity and a shortage of water have affected vegetation. The Vallvidrera fire station will come into operation in mid-May, with the forest fire prevention campaign to begin at the start of June.

The pre-campaign also signals the start of preventive work around Collserola to prevent fires in the summer, with different teams deployed in the parts of the park which belong to the city (districts of Les Corts, Sarrià – Sant Gervasi, Horta-Guinardó and Nou Barris).

These teams cover routes twice a day, in the morning and the afternoon, with the following goals:

• Improve knowledge of the woodland areas in Collserola and become more familiar with operational cartography.
• Strengthen knowledge of tactical elements in the area for the operational purposes of firefighters (access points, sites for vehicles, ridges, gullies etc.).
• Detect elements which could affect the task of firefighters in the case of a fire and provide solutions for these.

The Vallvidrera fire station will come into service in mid-May and get more vehicles and firefighters to ensure swift access to woodland areas and a quick response in the case of a fire. The summer forest fire prevention campaign gets under way in June and will be in place until mid-September.

Use of drones

The Barcelona Fire Service introduced drones last year to obtain aerial images in emergency situations (forest fires, for instance) and for prevention tasks, as these offer added safety for those tackling the situation and facilitate decision-making.

The drones have night vision, thermal vision and loudspeakers, with images always provided and viewed in real time and not recorded under any circumstances.

Dissemination among local people

The team of firefighters plan to conduct information routes with advice on prevention and self-protection for local people, explaining how to respond in the case of a forest fire and how to maintain homes and the areas around them to reduce the risk of fire.

Another initiative, first conducted last year, consists of a simulated forest fire to explain the operational response in these cases and highlight the importance of prevention and coordination between the relevant corps and local people in the neighbourhoods. The simulation involves those responsible for self-protection plans in the mountain neighbourhoods, the City Police and the Collserola Consortium.

At the same time, forest fire prevention sessions have been conducted throughout the year around the city’s districts, particularly in the mountain areas.

How can we protect ourselves against forest fires?

Maximum caution and collaboration are needed from the general public during the hottest months. Since 15 March it has been prohibited to carry out forestry tasks or any activity which could generate sparks within 500 metres of woodlands. This includes burning waste and lighting barbecues.

Remember! If you see a forest fire, call 112 and provide as much information as possible. If you have the My112 phone app the emergency services will also be able to locate you from your call.

For information on protecting yourself from forest fires click here.

Forest fires in 2022

During last year’s campaign there were 19 fires in the Collserola area which corresponds to the municipality of Barcelona. The fires burnt around 0,32 hectares in all.