Spain's wildfire cuts: Sánchez promised 15 water bombers, none arrived

The cuts to firefighting: broken promises and 1,200 hectares consumed

On 21 May, Pedro Sánchez launched Spain's wildfire campaign at Torrejón de Ardoz with a headline announcement: the addition of 15 amphibious aircraft to the aerial fleet. Two months later, not a single one is operational. Meanwhile, fire is ravaging thousands of hectares. In El Cerro de Andévalo (Huelva), 1,200 hectares burned barely a month after the Government approved the installation of solar panels in the same area.

Aerial capacity at rock bottom

The Ministry of the Interior insists that the resources "are sufficient". But reality is stubborn: the available water bombers are obsolete and broken down —the Government itself has known for four years, according to Okdiario— and the necessary investment has not been made. The state fleet is below historic minimums, making extinction an almost impossible mission without air support.

Meanwhile, the European funds for modernisation have barely been used. A forum user calculated that budget cuts to wildfire fighting amount to around 50%. Comparisons are invidious: keeping the Falcon jets of the official fleet costs three times more than what is allocated to water bombers, according to The Objective.

Aid to Segarro and the UME controversy

While aerial resources are scarce, the Government transferred 340 million euros to Segarro in March for water infrastructure projects. With that amount, up to seven new amphibious aircraft could have been purchased. The decision raises hackles at a time when wildfires are multiplying.

Even more serious: the deputy mayor of Pedro Bernardo (Ávila) claimed that the UME (Spain's Military Emergency Unit) was ordered not to intervene in certain fires, limiting itself to evacuating residents so they would not see the inaction. Statements which, if true, would amount to failure to provide assistance.

The debate over forest prevention

It is not all the central Government's fault. Firefighting powers rest primarily with municipalities and regional governments. But environmental regulations —at state level— prevent basic prevention work: clearing undergrowth, cleaning waterways or collecting firewood. The result is an accumulation of vegetal fuel that turns any spark into an uncontrolled blaze. The green left, which drove those restrictions, washes its hands when the countryside burns.

A Falcon costs more than a firefighting aircraft

President Sánchez is multiplying his use of the Falcon for trips that, in many cases, could be made by train or commercial flight. Meanwhile, the water bomber pilots complain about a lack of spare parts and flight hours. The contrast could not be starker: those who must put out the fire fly in aircraft from the 1980s, and those who should be managing the crisis fly in luxury jets.

With thermometers breaking records and forecasts of extreme fires for the years ahead, the questions pile up. The Government insists the resources are sufficient; the data say otherwise. And in the coming weeks, when the heat really bites, we will see whether the flames or the propaganda are more convincing.