Eduardo Tolosana, dean of the Official College of Forest Engineers, said Spain must multiply its investment in forest fire prevention by at least 10 [5].
The call for funding comes as Spain grapples with the consequences of rural abandonment and inadequate local safety planning. Tolosana said that the current imbalance between fire suppression and prevention leaves the country vulnerable to catastrophic events.
This warning follows the Los Gallardos fire in Almería, which Tolosana described as a "tragedy anunciada" [2]. The blaze resulted in 11 deaths [1]. Reports on the number of injured vary, with figures ranging from eight [4] to 19 [2], including four people in serious condition [4].
Tolosana said the disaster highlights a critical failure in municipal autoprotection plans. He said the government must provide necessary resources to these local plans to ensure communities can protect themselves before emergency services arrive.
"No es que haya que invertir menos en extinción, pero si tenemos la pata coja en prevención y en autoprotección..." Tolosana said [0].
The dean has expressed concerns about the current fire season since May. He said the 2026 campaign could exceed the gravity of the 2025 season [3]. He said the increasing risk is due to the systemic neglect of rural areas, a trend that allows combustible materials to accumulate and makes fire containment more difficult.
According to Tolosana, the strategy must shift from reacting to fires to managing the landscape. He said that without a massive increase in preventative spending, the cycle of "announced tragedies" will continue as climate conditions worsen.
“The incendio de Los Gallardos es una tragedia anunciada.”
The demand for a tenfold increase in prevention funding reflects a strategic shift in Spanish forestry management. By highlighting the Los Gallardos tragedy, forest engineers are signaling that traditional firefighting—extinction—is insufficient if rural landscapes are abandoned and local municipalities lack the funded autoprotection plans needed to stop small fires from becoming uncontrollable disasters.
