Fire map in Spain today, August 13: Niebla loses strength while Huesca maintains the most complicated situation

Autonomous communities declare emergencies due to forest fires by activating their own civil protection plans (special INFO plans and, where applicable, territorial plans), which are developed in accordance with basic state regulations. When the fire exceeds their response capacity, they can request support from the General State Administration (AGE), activating the State Forest Fire Plan and, if appropriate, the intervention of state resources such as the Military Emergency Unit (UME). All of this is framed within the National Civil Protection System regulated by the Law 17/2015 of the National Civil Protection System and the specific planning for forest fires.

1. Basic regulatory framework

The common framework that all communities must respect includes, among other regulations:

• Law 17/2015, of July 9, on the National Civil Protection System (Law 17/2015), which defines the system, cooperation between administrations, the role of the Ministry of the Interior, Government delegates, and the UME, and provides for disaster aid.
• Basic planning guideline for forest fires, approved by Royal Decree 893/2013, now partially repealed but still applied temporarily, which sets the minimum requirements for autonomous INFO plans and their coordination with the State Plan.
• State Civil Protection Plan for Forest Fire Emergencies, approved by the Resolution of October 31, 2014, which organizes state resources and support mechanisms for autonomous plans when communities require it or lack sufficient response capacity.
• The strategic framework is completed with the National Civil Protection Strategy and the General State Emergency Civil Protection Plan.

Regarding the UME, its organization and procedures are regulated in the Order DEF/160/2019 and in the intervention protocols approved by Royal Decree 1097/2011 and the previous Royal Decree 399/2007. There are also international cooperation agreements, such as the one signed with France regarding emergencies (Spain-France agreement).

2. Autonomous declaration of emergency due to forest fire

Based on this regulation, the common procedure is as follows (without entering into the nuances of each community):

• Activation of the autonomous INFO plan: in the event of a fire, the autonomous body responsible for civil protection/interior activates the special forest fire plan, with different levels or operational situations defined according to the Basic Guideline and the State Plan (mentioned in the Basic Guideline and the State Plan itself).
• Escalation of the situation: when the fire acquires a supra-municipal dimension and significantly affects people, property, or the environment, the community can declare an emergency situation at the autonomous level, integrating its extinguishing services, civil protection, and, where applicable, the Local Administration into the plan's management.
• Internal autonomous coordination: the autonomous operational coordination center (CECOP or equivalent) centralizes information and coordinates all involved administrations, following the planning structure at state, autonomous, and local levels described in the State Fire Plan.

3. Request for state aid and resources

When the autonomous community considers that its own and contracted resources are insufficient, the vertical cooperation provided for in Law 17/2015 and the State Plan comes into play:

• Formal request for support: the autonomous body responsible for civil protection submits the support request to the General State Administration, according to the procedures established in the State Forest Fire Plan, which expressly regulates the “support mechanisms for Autonomous Community plans in case they require it or lack sufficient response capacity.”
• Role of the Government Delegation: according to Law 17/2015, Government delegates act as coordinators of AGE actions in the territory, under the instructions of the Ministry of the Interior. In practice, they channel and coordinate the deployment of state resources in support of the autonomous device.
• Mobilization of state resources: the State Plan foresees the activation of state resources (brigades, aerial means, etc.) and, when appropriate, the UME, whose intervention is regulated in Order DEF/160/2019 and the protocols approved by the 2011 and 2007 royal decrees.
• Emergency of national interest: if the fire reaches such magnitude that it seriously affects national security or national interest, the Government can assume the direction of the emergency through the State Plan, integrating the autonomous communities into the national coordination structure (principle established in Law 17/2015 and developed in the General State Emergency Plan).

4. Economic aid and subsequent measures

In addition to operational aid, Law 17/2015 contemplates aid in areas severely affected by civil protection emergencies and, according to the text itself, even the possibility of granting aid without a prior formal declaration of severely affected area. Based on this, specific regulations have been issued for the application of labor and Social Security measures in areas affected by forest fires, such as Order TES/443/2022. Similarly, Order ISM/707/2021 and Order TES/1223/2021 develop measures for other emergencies, always referring to Law 17/2015.

In summary, the procedure combines: declaration and management of the emergency by the autonomous community through its INFO and territorial plans; motivated request for support when capacity is exceeded; and deployment of state resources regulated by the State Forest Fire Plan, Law 17/2015, and specific UME regulations, under the coordination of the Ministry of the Interior and the Government Delegation.

The State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) is not a firefighting or forest management service, but its legal framework makes it the public meteorological service of reference for the prevention and management of forest fires: it provides meteorological monitoring and forecasting, fire danger calculation, real-time support for firefighting, and technical coordination with other administrations. These competences derive mainly from its Statute as a state agency and civil protection regulations. In forest fires, its role is essentially technical and supportive, not operational or commanding.

1. Basic framework: AEMET Statute

The core of AEMET's competences is established in Royal Decree 186/2008, which approves its Statute (AEMET Statute). From this Statute, several key ideas with direct impact on forest fires emerge:

• Purpose and mission: to provide “meteorological services under State competence” and support other public policies, “contributing to the safety of people and property.” This includes natural risks such as fires.
• Management of the State public meteorological service: it must serve institutions competent in civil protection, defense, and security, positioning it as the official provider of meteorological information for emergencies.
• State meteorological authority: it holds this status and maintains observation networks, prediction systems, data archives, and continuous monitoring of meteorological and climatic conditions.
• Continuous monitoring and historical record: the Statute assigns it permanent atmospheric surveillance over the national territory and updating the historical data record, which is the basis for danger indices and risk analysis.
• Cooperation with other administrations: it can sign agreements with autonomous communities and local entities for joint actions in meteorology and climatology, essential in fire planning.

2. Integration into the National Civil Protection System

Law 17/2015, of the National Civil Protection System (Law 17/2015) does not list specific functions of AEMET, but it does define forest fires and adverse meteorological phenomena as risks to be addressed through Special Plans (art. 15.3). On this basis, the Government approves plans where AEMET is formally integrated.

Among these instruments are:

• General State Emergency Civil Protection Plan, approved by Council of Ministers Agreement and published by Resolution of December 16, 2020 (General State Emergency Plan).
• National Civil Protection Strategy, published by Order PCI/488/2019 (National Civil Protection Strategy), which strengthens the role of meteorological services in managing natural risks.
• Basic planning guideline for forest fires, approved by Royal Decree 893/2013 (Basic forest fire guideline), now partially modified, which serves as a framework for state and autonomous plans.

3. Specific functions in forest fires

3.1. Meteorological danger prediction

The instrument that details AEMET's role most specifically is the State Civil Protection Plan for Forest Fire Emergencies, approved by Council of Ministers Agreement (Resolution of October 31, 2014, from the Undersecretariat: State Forest Fire Plan, with errata correction in 2015 correction).

This Plan expressly establishes that:

• AEMET is the body responsible for the “prediction of meteorological fire danger” at the national scale.
• It must prepare a daily forecast, with at least 24 hours lead time, of key meteorological variables (temperature, relative humidity, wind, and precipitation) necessary for calculating a meteorological fire danger index.
• This information is provided in numerical and cartographic format to all involved organizations and integrated into a common danger assessment system across the territory.

3.2. Real-time support for firefighting

The same Plan provides that AEMET, through its operational units of the National Prediction System, “will provide support to firefighting tasks in real time.” This means, in practice:

• Providing localized forecasts (wind evolution, temperature, humidity, possible dry storms, etc.).
• Issuing warnings about relevant abrupt changes for fire propagation.
• Integrating into emergency coordination centers when plans so provide.

3.3. Information, monitoring, and coordination

The State Forest Fire Plan also links AEMET with:

• The coordinated alert and information system on ongoing fires, providing basic meteorological data and its interpretation.
• Information exchange between management bodies of autonomous and state plans, ensuring that danger assessment and data used are common and transmitted with sufficient advance notice.

4. Relationship with other regulations and competence limits

Other sectoral regulations on fires and emergencies (such as Law 43/2003, on Forests, amended by Law 21/2015 and Royal Decree-law 15/2022, on forest fires) configure the distribution of competences between the State and autonomous communities, but do not directly assign additional specific functions to AEMET beyond its general role as state meteorological service.

Additionally, there are indirect references in the training and qualification of civil protection and emergency professionals (for example, emergency and civil protection and forest management degrees and curricula, as regulated in Royal Decree 906/2013, Royal Decree 907/2013, Royal Decree 260/2011, Order EDU/1544/2011, Order ECD/1527/2015, and Order ECD/1523/2015), where applied meteorology to fire is an essential technical content.

In any case, the legal framework is clear on limits: AEMET does not direct firefighting operations nor decide on forest management. Its competences are:

• Observation, prediction, and meteorological and climatic monitoring.
• Calculation and dissemination of fire danger indices.
• Real-time meteorological support for firefighting and civil protection decision-making.
• Technical coordination and information exchange with other administrations and emergency services.

This scheme makes AEMET an indispensable but technically supportive actor within the Spanish system for forest fire prevention and management.

Other regulatory links cited in the sources, although secondary to your question, include: AEMET electronic headquarters, AEMET public service fees, AEMET training scholarships, and various internal organizational resolutions of the agency (competence avocation, competence delegation, 2020 Contracting Board, among others), which complete its institutional framework.

Basic Spanish regulations do not establish a detailed “single protocol” on how and when to evacuate a population center due to a forest fire, but they do set a mandatory framework of planning and command within which these decisions are made. Evacuation is articulated through civil protection plans (state, autonomous, and local) and special emergency plans for forest fires. These plans determine who can order the evacuation, how coordination between administrations is managed, and what obligations citizens have. Operational details (when to evacuate, by which routes, which neighborhoods first, etc.) are specified in autonomous and municipal regulations and planning.

Basic state civil protection framework

The central piece is Law 17/2015, of the National Civil Protection System, which configures civil protection as a public service integrated into public security and National Security, and strengthens planning, coordination, and citizen self-protection (Law 17/2015). Its preamble emphasizes:

• Mandatory planning: all relevant risks (including forest fires) must be addressed through territorial and special civil protection plans.
• Self-protection as a duty: self-protection is configured as a legal duty and the basic content of the Basic Self-protection Standard is reinforced.
• Emergencies of national interest: a model is defined in which, when national interest is involved, the Government can direct the emergency and coordinate all available resources.
• Coordination bodies: coordination centers (state and autonomous) are strengthened as structures from which emergencies are directed and different services integrated.

Although the consulted excerpt does not explicitly list “evacuations” or “confinements,” the law itself speaks of intervention and assistance activities and the need to coordinate all resources to protect people and property, which includes measures such as evacuating populations at risk.

Specific planning for forest fires

For forest fires, there is specific planning based on:

• The Basic guideline for civil protection planning of forest fire emergencies, approved by Royal Decree 893/2013 (RD 893/2013), applicable temporarily until a new instrument replaces it.
• The State Civil Protection Plan for Forest Fire Emergencies, approved by Council of Ministers agreement and published by Resolution of October 31, 2014 (State Plan 2014).

According to RD 893/2013, the Basic Guideline sets the minimum requirements for forest fire plans regarding:

• Structure and organization of planning: state plan, autonomous plans, local action plans, and self-protection plans.
• Operational emergency situations: different emergency situations are defined that condition the activation of measures such as evacuations or access restrictions.
• Coordination between administrations: a “minimum national model” is sought to allow joint action of state, autonomous, and local services.
• Guiding principle: it explicitly states that the protection of life and safety of people prevails over any other value, a legal basis to prioritize evacuation even over the protection of infrastructure or forest masses.

The Guideline indicates that plans focus on “civil protection measures that reduce the risks of catastrophic situations for people, property, and the environment,” which includes preventive or mandatory evacuation of threatened population centers.

Command, emergency declaration, and evacuations

The 2014 State Plan specifies the organization and procedures when national interest is present (State Plan 2014):

• It establishes an organizational structure for the direction and coordination of all Administrations in forest fire emergencies.
• It foresees the CECOPI (Integrated Operational Coordination Center), where the highest responsible persons from different administrations integrate for coordinated emergency management; this is the setting where strategic decisions, including population evacuation, are agreed upon.
• It explicitly includes among concerned bodies the protection and assistance services for citizens who might be affected by fires, which covers evacuation, confinement, or access control measures.

In practice, according to this framework:

• At the local level, the mayor directs the municipal or local action plan and can order evacuations within their jurisdiction when the fire is managed at that level.
• At the autonomous level, the director of the special autonomous plan assumes direction and the power to order evacuations when the emergency exceeds the local scope.
• If a national interest emergency is declared according to Law 17/2015, the Government (through the Ministry of the Interior and the national coordination center) directs the emergency and coordinates evacuation orders with autonomous and local authorities.

Obligations of citizens and infrastructure holders

Law 17/2015 reinforces self-protection and citizen collaboration as essential elements of the system (Law 17/2015):

• Citizens have the general duty to collaborate with civil protection services, follow their instructions, and participate in self-protection measures provided in plans, which includes complying with evacuation or confinement orders.
• Entities or companies whose activities generate risk to the population must assume the cost of corresponding protection measures; in a forest fire, this may affect holders of critical infrastructures or essential services located in risk areas.

At the strategic level, the National Civil Protection Strategy, first published by Order PCI/488/2019 (Strategy 2019) and updated by the Agreement approved in 2024 (Strategy 2024), reinforces the importance of planning and multi-level coordination against large fires, although without entering into micro details of evacuations.

In summary, the “requirements” to evacuate population centers in forest fires in Spain derive from this framework: existence of special and territorial plans that foresee the measure, activation of the appropriate emergency situation, decision by the competent civil protection authority (local, autonomous, or state depending on the level), and citizen obligation to comply with issued protection orders.