Aragón sets minimum services ahead of the indefinite strike by forest firefighters

The Department of Economy, Competitiveness and Employment of the Government of Aragon has approved Order ECE/1205/2026, of 14 August, establishing the minimum services for the indefinite strike called at the public company Sociedad Aragonesa de Gestión Agroambiental, SLU (SARGA), whose start is scheduled for 0:00 hours on 18 August 2026. The resolution is published in the Official Gazette of Aragon number 158, of 17 August 2026, in section III on Other Provisions and Agreements.

The strike, called by the Inter-company Committee of SARGA, affects 800 workers (640 men and 160 women) of the forest fire prevention and extinction operation in Aragon, at the height of the maximum activation phase of the device, which extends until 13 September.

An essential service in the middle of a critical campaign

The order considers the forest operation a public emergency service, in accordance with Law 17/2015 on the National Civil Protection System, Law 4/2024 on the Civil Protection and Emergency Management System of Aragon, and the Special Civil Protection Emergency Plan for Forest Fires. The 2026 campaign is at the level of other critical years such as 1994, 2009 or 2022, with an estimated burned area of 39,000 hectares since June and four large forest fires (GIF) recorded in less than a month.

During the drafting of the order itself, a fire was declared in the municipality of Riglos, in the area surrounding the La Peña reservoir, which has burned more than 11,000 hectares, has forced the evacuation of 16 population centres and more than 900 residents, and threatens monuments such as the Monasteries of San Juan de la Peña.

The minimum services established

The minimum services will be maintained for the duration of the indefinite strike and until the end of the high-activation period due to fire risk, at which point new ones will be required to be established. The staffing includes:

• 8 helitack brigades (Ejea de los Caballeros, Alcorisa, Peñalba, Brea de Aragón, Calamocha, Blancos del Coscojar, Bailo and Boltaña).
• 62 ground brigades distributed throughout the Aragonese territory.
• 40 forest fire engines.
• 80 fixed lookout posts.
• All provincial radio stations or operations centres.
• All technical and support structure personnel.

Processing and effects

The proposal for minimum services was issued by the Technical General Secretariat of the Department of Environment and Tourism, in accordance with what was indicated on August 13 by the General Directorate of Forest Management, after completing the hearing procedure with the convening committee without any objections being submitted. The order, signed in Zaragoza on August 14 by the Vice President and Minister of the Presidency, Justice, Culture and Sport, María del Mar Vaquero Perianez, acting on behalf of the Minister of Economy, enters into force on the same day of its publication and will become void if the strike is called off. The cessation or alterations in the provision of essential services will be subject to penalties in accordance with current regulations.

The establishment of these minimum services guarantees the protection of people, property and the forest at a time of high fire risk, in which extreme weather conditions and the high availability of vegetation suggest high-intensity fire spread over the next two weeks. The resolution, which ends the administrative route, may be appealed through the administrative litigation route before the High Court of Justice of Aragon.

Source: Official Bulletin of Aragon, No. 158, August 17, 2026, section III. Other Provisions and Agreements (official reference: Order ECE/1205/2026, csv BOA20260817018).