The Board sets 41,461 firefighters and their remuneration for 2026

The Regional Ministry of Environment and Energy of the Junta de Castilla y León has set the total number of shifts for the forest fire prevention and extinction operation for 2026 at 41,461, along with their remuneration amount and the selection procedure for the personnel performing them. This is done through Order MAE/1100/2026, of October 23, published in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León no. 208, of October 27, 2026, entering into force the day following its publication.

The order develops the mandate of article 21 of Decree 89/2004, of July 29, which requires the annual determination, by order of the Regional Ministry, of the maximum number of shifts per danger period, command centers, provinces, and regions based on potential risk. It also applies the third additional provision of the same decree, which refers the approval of amounts to an annual order, and article 88 bis of Law 3/2009, of April 6, on forests of Castilla y León. The text is structured into three chapters, eleven articles, two additional provisions, one final provision, and seven annexes, and is signed by the regional minister María González Corral.

A deployment of 41,461 shifts across ten command centers

Annex I distributes the shifts among the nine Provincial Command Centers (CPM) and the Autonomous Command Center (CAM), with 41,461 shifts in total:

• Technicians (shift leaders and on-call technicians): 5,330 shifts, at a rate of 488 in each provincial center and in the CAM, except for León (627) and Zamora (576).
• Operations technicians: 1,373 shifts, with 123 per province and 246 in the CAM.
• Environmental and forestry agents: 31,078 shifts, of which 18,311 are regional, 1,600 are heliborne, and 11,167 are provincial.
• Caretakers: 897 shifts, all during the high-danger period and concentrated in León (214) and Zamora (170); Valladolid has none.
• Drivers: 2,783 shifts, led by Soria (340) and León (357).

The high-danger period extends from June 12 to October 12. During those four months, the second additional provision sets the maximum at 40 shifts per person, except in justified cases, an equivalence that applies to the limit of 30 shifts in three months provided for drivers. Additionally, Annex I reserves 7,096 agent shifts that may be approved by resolution of the general director to handle ordinary or extraordinary incorporations at any time of the year.

Remuneration of up to 435.94 euros per holiday shift

Annex II establishes the amounts per shift, effective from January 1, 2026, and calculated according to Decree-Law 3/2025, of December 18, on the remuneration increase for the regional public sector:

• Shift Supervisor: 209.93 euros on working days and 435.94 on holidays.
• On-call Technician: 209.93 and 278.57 euros.
• Shift Operations Technician: 164.07 and 340.82 euros; on-call: 164.07 and 217.73.
• Environmental and forestry agents: 149.45 and 196.13 euros; helitransported, 156.77 and 205.75.
• Orderlies: 138.88 and 182.27 euros; drivers: 107.47 and 142.59 euros.

Requirements, exemptions, and five and ten-day deadlines

Chapter III regulates who is excluded from on-call duties and how personnel are selected. Those who do not pass the mandatory prior medical examination and those who have reached 65 years of age are excluded. Exemptions may be requested by those over 60 years old, those who allege specific personal circumstances, personnel with reduced working hours, and shift supervisors and on-call technicians over 55 years old, provided that the operational needs are covered.

The procedure is initiated ex officio by the head of the territorial service or, in central services, by the head of the Forest Fire Service, and includes three successive deadlines:

• Five days for interested parties to request an exemption with supporting documentation.
• Ten days to submit allegations regarding the report from the head of the territorial service.
• Five days to submit the proposed resolution to the territorial delegate.

The selection of technicians is resolved through a progressive order based on participation in campaigns since 2015 and training (TEC.1 and TEC.2 courses), with preference given to personnel assigned to sections with competencies in prevention and extinction. On-call duties for environmental and forestry agents are mandatory, those for orderlies are voluntary, and those for drivers are mandatory in the territorial Environment services and in the General Secretariat.

Regions and potential risk

Annex VII classifies 97 regions into five potential risk groups calculated using the INFOCAL method: 8 in group I, 10 in II, 34 in III, 35 in IV, and 10 in V. The maximum number of daily on-call agents during high-danger periods ranges from 291 in very high-risk regions to 128 in low-risk regions, and each region must reserve a minimum number of shifts for the rest of the year, ranging from 60 to 5 depending on its group.

The order arrives with the deployment already finalized for the 2026 campaign and with economic effects retroactive to January 1, so that personnel who have performed on-call duties this year will have their compensation regularized according to the new amounts. For city councils and regions with the highest fire risk, the text specifies in detail for the first time how many agents must be on call each day and how many shifts remain reserved outside the high-danger season, which determines the actual operational coverage in the territory.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla y León, no. 208, of October 27, 2026, section I.A (General Provisions), page 9 (official reference: BOCYL-D-27102026-208-1).