The municipalities of Gátova, Marines, and Olocau, affected by the forest fire that has burned 633 hectares of the Serra Calderona, have eight firebreak sections pending execution or adaptation since 2017. This is revealed in a joint statement signed by the three town councils, which requested the Generalitat to implement a level 1 firebreak along the CV-25 road.
The statement, signed by mayors Jesús Salmerón Berga (PP) of Gátova, Juan Romero Durban (Compromís) of Marines, and Antonio Ropero Morales (PSPV) of Olocau, requested the competent ministries for roads, environment, and forest fire prevention to coordinate the technical definition, budgetary programming, and execution of this firebreak area. The request was based on the Forest Fire Prevention Plan of the Serra Calderona Natural Park and the local plans of the three municipalities.
The management of this fire prevention measure currently falls under the Conselleria de Medi Ambient, Infraestructures, Territori i de la Recuperació, led by third vice-president Vicente Martínez Mus. The town councils requested the identification and delimitation of the sections affected by the 20/21 action unit on the CV-25, as well as the drafting or updating of technical projects and the incorporation of the action into the budgetary programming with the highest priority, considering the history of serious fires in the area.
The municipal officials recall that the Serra Calderona presents conditions favorable for the rapid spread of fire, such as west winds channeled by the valleys, high temperatures, scarce rainfall, and low relative humidity. These circumstances contributed to the 2017 fire, which affected 1,413 hectares, and another registered in 2005, in addition to a fire in 1992. The prevention documentation also identifies lightning ignition nuclei in the vicinity of Olocau and Marines Viejo.
The Serra Calderona Natural Park, spanning 18,095 hectares, includes numerous vulnerable elements such as urban centers, housing developments, agricultural holdings, and infrastructure. The three municipalities consider a supramunicipal strategy coordinated with the Generalitat to be necessary, where the CV-25 becomes a strategic infrastructure for fire prevention, extinction, and evacuation.
