Prime Minister's Office of Spain

05/21/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/22/2026 04:47

Pedro Sánchez announces that Spain has 'the largest state deployment for a wildfire campaign' this year

Pedro Sánchez announces that Spain has "the largest state deployment for a wildfire campaign" this year

President's News - 2026.5.21

The President of the Government of Spain stresses, during the presentation of the 2026 campaign to fight forest fires, that the Executive "has reinforced resources, coordination and public awareness" in the face of a threat that "is increasing" as a consequence of climate change.

Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base, Madrid

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during the presentation of the 2026 campaign to fight forest fires (Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo)

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The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, stated that, after experiencing the worst wildfires in recent history during the summer of 2025, "what we have done is prepare" and "put all the resources at the disposal of the General State Administration" to ensure that something like this does not happen again, and that is why this year we have launched "the largest state deployment for a wildfire campaign". "There is a whole country ready to act," Sanchez stressed.

This was stated at the presentation of the 2026 forest fire prevention campaign, in which he pointed out that the Executive "has reinforced resources, coordination and public awareness" in the face of a threat that "is increasing" as a consequence of climate change.

With regard to the increase in material resources, the president explained that there will be a fleet of 15 amphibious aircraft, the new Airbus A400M firefighting kit for aircraft and four new Chinook and two Cougar helicopters, which will be added to the already operational resources of the Emergency Helicopter Battalion. The teams will also have new high-capacity drones, all-terrain vehicles, thermal cameras and advanced surveillance and tracking systems. This effort will continue in the immediate future, with the planned incorporation of 7 new DHC-515 aircraft as part of the Defence Industrial and Technological Plan.

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, together with the Third Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, during the tour of the exhibition of resources for the fire prevention campaign | Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo

With regard to improving coordination, Pedro Sánchez pointed out that the battle against fire "is won through unity, through institutional loyalty and never through confrontation". "For this reason, we've made progress in unifying basic operating criteria between administrations: from the identification of firefighting units to protocols for the use of aerial resources, emergency communication and operational symbology on the ground," he added.

He also mentioned improvements to prevention tools, including the updated forest fire danger index, which for the first time will incorporate information on vegetation and soil conditions in addition to meteorological data.

Thirdly, the head of the Executive asserted that "it is essential to address this challenge through public awareness and education in emergencies". To this end, we are launching the Emergency Training Plan for Education Centres, which will reach 25,000 schools and 8 million students, who will acquire solid training and a genuine culture of prevention.

Improved working conditions for the Forest Fire Reinforcement Brigades (BRIF)

Pedro Sánchez also put the spotlight on the public servants who fight fires and announced that in 2026 "we will fully implement the improvement of the conditions of those who fight fires on the front line: our forest brigades, the BRIF. We will do so with a new agreement that strengthens their labour and wage rights. In this sense, he once again called on the other competent administrations "to follow the same path".

Investing in prevention saves lives

A patrol of firefighting aircraft flies over the area during the visit of the President of the Government of Spain to the exhibition of resources for the 2026 forest fire campaign | Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo

During his speech, the President of the Government of Spain insisted on warning that "when it comes to fire, there are no ideological boundaries, nor jurisdictional limits. Fire does not distinguish between administrations. It does not ask who governs, nor does it understand political colours". And precisely for this reason, "Spain needs a major national pact to address the climate emergency", he asserted.

He reiterated that "our only enemy is fire, and to defeat it we need unity, planning, response capacity, but, above all, resources", and "all the administrations have to act accordingly". "Let no one forget: investing in prevention saves lives and natural spaces. Cutting back on prevention, quite the opposite," he concluded.

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Prime Minister's Office of Spain published this content on May 21, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on May 22, 2026 at 10:48 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]