The Consell approves 535,970 euros in urgent aid for three forest fires

The Consell has approved Decree 135/2026, of September 18, which approves the regulatory bases and the direct award procedure for urgent aid to alleviate the damage caused by the forest fires declared in Soneja on July 5, in El Saler on August 27, and in Tuéjar on September 15, 2026. The regulation is published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana (DOGV) no. 10456, of September 22, 2026, in section III of administrative acts. The maximum global amount of the aid amounts to 535,970 euros.

The three incidents forced the activation of civil protection measures and the mobilization of emergency resources. The fire in Soneja, in the province of Castellón, led to the preventive evacuation of the municipality of Azuébar; that of El Saler, in the municipality of València, affected the Devesa de El Saler and the Gola de Pujol and forced the preventive evacuation of the hamlet, campsites, and nearby facilities; and that of Tuéjar, in the province of Valencia, also reached the municipality of Benagéber.

The direct award is supported by article 168.1.c) of the Generalitat’s Law 1/2015, of February 6, and article 22.2.c) of the Law 38/2003, of November 17, general law on subsidies, due to reasons of public, social, economic, and humanitarian interest. The decree is approved upon the proposal of the second vice president and conseller of the Presidency, José Luis Díez Climent, and is signed by the president of the Generalitat, Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca. As a precedent, Decrees 114/2026 and 115/2026, of July 31, already regulated aid for the fire of July 25, and Decree 127/2026, of September 3, extended the regime to the fires of Tírig and Segorbe.

Three lines of aid and 535,970 euros in credit

The decree configures a unitary package structured into three lines: “Aid to natural persons,” “Economic reactivation,” and “Aid to agricultural, livestock, and forestry holdings.” The initial distribution of the credit is as follows:

• Housing (total destruction, structural and non-structural damage): 123,000 euros.
• Household goods and basic necessities: 12,965 euros.
• Rent for relocation: 8,395 euros.
• Vehicles: 45,000 euros.
• Self-employed workers: 82,500 euros.
• Retail trade: 26,400 euros.
• ERTE and extraordinary benefit from the State Public Employment Service (SEPE): 11,880 euros.
• Agricultural and livestock holdings: 159,830 euros.
• Forestry holdings: 66,000 euros.

The distribution is estimated and remaining credits may be redistributed among lines via a resolution published in the DOGV; the global amount may be increased by decree of the Consell depending on budget availability. Direct aid to municipalities for municipal actions are excluded.

Amounts: up to 20,000 euros per destroyed dwelling

• Total destruction of primary residence: 20,000 euros; structural damage, 15,000; non-structural damage, 6,000.
• Non-primary residence: 10,000, 7,500 and 3,000 euros, respectively.
• Household goods and basic necessities: 3,000 euros for primary residences and 1,500 for non-primary residences.
• Rent for relocation: 800 euros per month, with a maximum of fourteen monthly payments.
• Vehicles declared a total loss: amounts in Annex II, from 200 euros (power tiller) up to 15,000 (bus or coach over 3,500 kg); passenger car, 2,000 euros; agricultural tractor, 5,000.
• Self-employed and retail trade: 1,000 euros; regional supplement of 360 euros for workers under ERTE or receiving extraordinary benefits from the SEPE.
• Livestock and nurseries: 15,000 euros per farm, plus 150 euros per sheep/goat, 180 per pig, 1,000 per bovine or equine, 6 per poultry, and 150 per beehive.
• Agricultural damage: 6,000 euros per hectare for irrigated land and 4,000 for rain-fed land; agricultural equipment, 1,500 euros per farm.
• Forest lands with a technical management instrument: 1,500, 1,000 or 500 euros per hectare depending on the use.

Deadlines, processing, and control

The deadline for submitting applications is three months from the day following the publication of the decree, extendable by resolution of the head of the department competent in emergencies. The resolution must be issued within a maximum period of three months from the end of the application period and, if no express resolution is issued, the application shall be understood as rejected by administrative silence.

The instruction and management correspond to the Valencian Agency for Safety and Emergency Response (basic necessity aid), the competent management center for housing, Labora Valencian Employment and Training Service, the management center for trade, the Valencian Tax Agency (vehicles), the general directorate of labor, that of agriculture, and that of forestry matters. The Institut Valencià de Finances may arrange specific financial instruments for affected companies and industries. The managing bodies will carry out a one hundred percent control of the aid, and the sum combined with insurance or other aid may not exceed the cost of the proven damage.

The decree takes effect from the day following its publication, and an optional appeal for reversal may be filed against it within one month, or a contentious-administrative appeal may be filed before the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community within two months. The regulation provides immediate financial coverage to residents, freelancers, businesses, and agricultural holdings in the burned or evacuated areas, including loss of earnings derived from confinement measures and mobility restrictions.

Source: Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana, no. 10456, September 22, 2026, section III (Administrative acts, B) Grants and scholarships), p. 1-18 (official reference: DOGV-C-2026-29581).