Copia de Copia de Fire map in Spain today, August 14: Fog worsens in Seville and Huesca maintains the alert for San Juan de la Peña

In Spain, there is no single figure formally called the “National Wildfire Mechanism”, but rather a framework of regulations and plans that coordinate the state response and international cooperation in the face of major wildfires. The pillars are the Law 43/2003, on Forests, the Law 17/2015, on the National Civil Protection System, Royal Decree 893/2013 (Basic guideline on wildfires, now partially replaced by the Basic Civil Protection Standard – RD 524/2023), the State Civil Protection Plan for Wildfire Emergencies (Council of Ministers Agreement of 24.10.2014) and the General State Emergency Plan (PLEGEM) of 2020, as well as the UME Intervention Protocol (RD 399/2007 and RD 1097/2011) and European and international instruments.

1. Activation of state resources against wildfires

The ordinary competence for prevention and extinction lies with the autonomous communities, based on the Forest Law and Royal Decree-law 15/2022, which strengthens regional planning. Each community has an autonomous emergency plan for wildfires, harmonized with the 2013 Basic Guideline and the Basic Civil Protection Standard.

The plans distinguish operational situations (0, 1, 2, 3). According to Royal Decree 893/2013:

• Situation 0: the fire can be controlled with local/regional resources.
• Situation 1: may require extraordinary state resources, upon request from the competent body of the autonomous community and prior assessment by the Directorate General of Civil Protection and Emergencies (DGPCE) or the state forestry body.
• Situation 2: serious impact on population and non-forest assets; still directed by the community but may require more state resources and enhanced coordination.
• Situation 3: corresponds to a national interest emergency, declared by the Minister of the Interior in accordance with Law 17/2015 and the Basic Civil Protection Standard.

The essential procedures to “activate the national mechanism” are:

• The autonomous community declares the operational situation of its plan (0, 1, or 2) and, when its resources are overwhelmed, submits an official request for support to the DGPCE (Ministry of the Interior) or to the competent Environment body for state aerial resources.
• The DGPCE, through the CENEM (National Emergency Monitoring and Coordination Center), coordinates the deployment of state resources (planes, state brigades, etc.) according to the State Wildfire Plan and PLEGEM.
• If the severity and extent justify it, the Minister of the Interior may declare the national interest emergency (situation 3); at that moment, political direction passes to the General State Administration, in accordance with Law 17/2015 and PLEGEM.

2. Activation of the Military Emergency Unit (UME)

The UME Intervention Protocol (RD 399/2007 and RD 1097/2011) establishes that:

• UME intervention can be ordered in serious emergencies derived, among others, from wildfires.
• The decision to deploy corresponds to the President of the Government or the Minister of Defense, usually upon proposal from the Ministry of the Interior/DGPCE, once the request from the autonomous community is received or the concurrence of national interest is appreciated.

In practice, the typical administrative procedure is:

• The autonomous community informs the DGPCE that the situation exceeds its capacity and requests state resources, including, if applicable, the UME.
• Interior and Defense coordinate the formal order of UME intervention, which integrates into the Civil Protection command structure according to PLEGEM and the State Wildfire Plan.

3. Activation of international cooperation

Law 17/2015 and the General State Civil Protection Emergency Plan (Resolution of 16.12.2020) foresee that Spain may request or provide international aid, “either within the framework of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism, or in the context of other bilateral or multilateral cooperation instruments.”

The key administrative steps are:

• The competent national authority is the DGPCE, which, through CENEM, evaluates with the autonomous community if national resources are insufficient.
• If deemed necessary, the DGPCE submits an official request for international assistance:
  • To the European Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), through the procedures of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
  • Or bilaterally, based on agreements such as those signed with France and Portugal (on the use of aerial resources and emergency aid in border areas), published in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
• PLEGEM details that the DGPCE carries out the monitoring and coordination of international teams in Spain and their integration into the operational structure of the activated state or autonomous plan.

In summary, the activation of the “national mechanism” and international cooperation against wildfires is structured around formal declarations of emergency situation by the autonomous community, official aid requests channeled through the DGPCE, and state decisions (Interior, Defense, and Council of Ministers) that activate state plans, the UME, and, if applicable, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and bilateral agreements.

The Military Emergency Unit (UME) is, according to Spanish legislation, a joint force of the Armed Forces whose mission includes intervention in wildfires when they reach the level of serious risk, catastrophe, or calamity. Its role is defined in a regulatory framework highlighting the Council of Ministers Agreement of October 7, 2005 (creation of the UME), Royal Decree 1097/2011 (UME Intervention Protocol), Law 17/2015, of July 9, on the National Civil Protection System, and Order DEF/160/2019, of February 21, on the organization and functioning of the UME.

1. General framework of competencies

The 2005 Agreement, published by Resolution of January 19, 2006 (BOE-A-2006-843), creates the UME and sets its mission: to intervene “anywhere in the national territory when decided by the President of the Government, or the minister to whom he delegates, to contribute to the safety and well-being of citizens in cases of serious risk, catastrophe, calamity, or other public needs.” Although the agreement does not explicitly mention wildfires, these clearly fit within those cases.

Law 17/2015, on the National Civil Protection System (BOE-A-2015-7730), recognizes the UME as a new effective state intervention resource in civil protection and, as developed by Order DEF/160/2019, grants it the status of public emergency intervention and assistance service and configures it as the main collaboration structure of the Armed Forces with other administrations in this field.

2. Operational functions in emergencies and wildfires

Order DEF/160/2019 (BOE-A-2019-2441) specifies that the UME, as part of the Armed Forces, is permanently constituted and has the mission to intervene in Spain and abroad “to contribute to the safety and well-being of citizens in cases of serious risk, catastrophe, calamity, or other public needs.” Its operational actions, governed by Royal Decree 1097/2011, focus on adopting measures of:

• Safeguarding, protecting, and rescuing the life and integrity of people.
• Protection of property, the environment, natural spaces, and their resources.
• Protection of historical-artistic heritage and other public needs.

Since wildfires directly affect life, property, and the environment, the UME is normatively enabled to act in their extinction and emergency management when the scale or severity justifies it.

3. Aerial resources and operational command in wildfires

Royal Decree 1097/2011, of July 22, approving the UME Intervention Protocol (BOE-A-2011-12869), contains specific relevant provisions for wildfires. It states that the aerial firefighting resources operated by the 43rd Air Force Group:

• Are organically assigned to the Ministry of Defense and functionally to the Ministry of Environment (currently, the competent environmental department), which decides their ordinary use.
• When the UME participates in an emergency operation (particularly if the emergency is of national interest), it can request and order the immediate availability of those aerial resources and direct their use within the operation.

In regulatory practice, this means that in large wildfires whose management reaches that level, the UME not only acts with its own ground and support units but can assume operational command of the state aerial firefighting resources made available to it.

4. Relationship with other administrations and command

According to Law 17/2015 and Order DEF/160/2019, in a national interest emergency the UME assumes the Operational Command of the emergency, always acting under the direction of the Minister of the Interior, who is the highest authority in civil protection. This includes wildfire emergencies when declared of national interest.

The regulations emphasize coordination with:

• The autonomous communities, ordinary holders of prevention and extinction competencies for wildfires and their own services.
• Other firefighting and civil protection services (state, regional, and local), integrated into civil protection plans.

Thus, the UME integrates into the National Civil Protection System as an extraordinary state resource, activated when regional or local resources are insufficient or when the emergency transcends the regional scope.

5. Limits and activation regime

According to Order DEF/160/2019, the UME:

• Performs only the necessary prevention tasks to face a declared emergency; it is not a permanent wildfire prevention service.
• Can intervene in alert or pre-emergency situations to minimize the severity of an emergency before its formal declaration.
• In cases of “state of necessity, unforeseen, or extremely serious causes,” the UME Chief can order the intervention of its units, subsequently informing the head of the Ministry of Defense.

In summary, the legislation configures the UME as a specialized, extraordinary, and high-capacity military resource, which in wildfire matters acts when the magnitude of the disaster requires state reinforcement, assuming operational command in national interest emergencies and closely coordinating with territorial administrations and their firefighting services.

In civil protection planning against wildfires in Spain, “Situation 2” is an operational emergency level of special severity. It is declared when one or more fires may seriously affect the population and non-forest assets, require immediate civil protection measures, and the incorporation of extraordinary state resources may be necessary, with a certain risk that the emergency acquires national interest.

1. Regulatory framework and role of the autonomous community

The classification of situations (0, 1, 2, and 3) comes from the Basic Guideline for Civil Protection Planning for Wildfire Emergencies (approved by Royal Decree 893/2013, partially repealed but still in force regarding this structure until its replacement) and the State Civil Protection Plan for Wildfire Emergencies (Council of Ministers Agreement of October 24, 2014). Each autonomous community develops this typology in its own Special Wildfire Plan, but must respect these minimums to ensure coordination with the State.

The Guideline itself establishes that the qualification of the operational situation (1, 2, or 3) corresponds to the competent body of the autonomous community, which may modify it as the emergency evolves.

2. Requirements to declare “Situation 2”

The Basic Guideline expressly defines Situation 2 as: “Emergency situation caused by one or more wildfires that, in their foreseeable evolution, may seriously affect the population and non-forest assets, requiring immediate protection and relief measures; and it may be necessary that, at the request of the competent body of the Autonomous Community, extraordinary resources be incorporated, or situations that lead to national interest may arise.”

Operationally translated, these elements usually concur:

• Serious risk to people and non-forest assets: homes, housing developments, critical infrastructures, roads, power lines, industrial facilities, etc., located in urban-forest interface or near the fire.
• Need for immediate civil protection measures: confinements, evacuations, road closures, significant deployment of health and public order resources, activation of shelters or gathering points.
• Foreseeable insufficiency of ordinary regional and local resources: the fire (or set of fires) requires or may require reinforcements beyond those contemplated for Situation 1.
• Possible request for “extraordinary” state resources: for example, Military Emergency Unit (UME), state aerial resources outside their preferred area of operation, or resources from other ministries not ordinarily assigned to the regional plan.
• Potential escalation to national interest: the severity, extent, simultaneity of fires, or possible damages suggest that it could reach a “Situation 3” (national interest emergency, declared by the Ministry of the Interior).

3. What “Situation 2” implies in practice

Declaring Situation 2 does not yet transfer command to the State, but it does generate a qualitative leap in the organization of the response:

• Emergency command: remains with the competent regional authority (usually, the Director of the community’s Special Wildfire Plan), who maintains command over firefighting and civil protection services in their territory.
• Mobilization of extraordinary resources: the community may request, through the channels provided in the Guideline and the State Plan, the incorporation of:
  • Resources and personnel from the Armed Forces, including the UME.
  • Resources from the Ministry of Agriculture acting outside their preferred zone.
  • Other state resources not ordinarily assigned to the regional plan.
  • In very serious cases, even international resources via the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism.
• Strengthening State–Autonomous Community coordination: the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (CECOPI) is usually activated or reinforced, where regional and state officials sit together to coordinate decisions and resource use.
• Intensive civil protection measures: planning and execution of evacuations, confinements, protection of critical infrastructures, protection of vulnerable groups, and reinforcement of information and warnings to the population.
• Escalation towards Situation 3: if despite Situation 2 and the entry of extraordinary resources the fire reaches a dimension affecting “national interest” (for example, due to its potential impact on large populated areas, infrastructures, or multiple territories), the Ministry of the Interior could declare Situation 3, assuming political command of the emergency.

In summary, Situation 2 is the level at which a wildfire moves from being mainly a “technical” extinction problem of regional scope to becoming a major civil protection emergency, with maximum protagonism of the autonomous community but already open to intensive and coordinated mobilization of state and, if applicable, international resources.