Mérida approves its municipal forest fire plan with regional endorsement

The Local Government Board of the Mérida City Council approved the Municipal Action Plan for Forest Fire Risk in Mérida (PAMIF) during its session on September 24, 2026, by unanimous vote of those present. The agreement is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz No. 186, dated September 29, 2026, in Announcement 3746/2026, within the Local Administration section. The plan applies to the entire municipal district and organizes the municipal response to pre-emergency and emergency forest fire situations.

The proposal was submitted by Mr. Julio César Fuster Flores, Second Deputy Mayor and Delegated Councilor for General Administration, and responds to an initiative promoted by the Regional Government of Extremadura as a specific municipal planning instrument for civil protection and emergency management. The technical document was prepared by technicians from the company Obning Ingeniería, authored by Mr. Oscar Blanco Nicolás, Civil Engineer, with the collaboration of public and private organizations and the municipal services of Local Police, Parks and Gardens, and Urban Planning.

A plan required by regional planning

The Special Civil Protection Plan for Forest Fires in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura (INFOCAEX) stipulates that certain municipalities, based on their risk level, must have a specific municipal action plan for this risk, and Mérida is among them. The development of the PAMIF is framed within the following regulations:

• Law 17/2015, of July 9, on the National Civil Protection System.
• Royal Decree 524/2023, of June 20, approving the Basic Civil Protection Standard.
• Royal Decree 893/2013, of November 15, approving the Basic Guideline for civil protection planning for forest fire emergencies.
• Law 10/2019, of April 11, on civil protection and emergency management of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura.
• Decree 32/2023, of April 5, regulating the Registry of Civil Protection Plans of Extremadura and its structure, minimum content, approval, maintenance, and implementation.
• Special Civil Protection Plan for Forest Fires in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura INFOCAEX.

The Mérida City Council is subject to the organizational regime for large-population municipalities under Title X of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the Bases of the Local Regime, whose Article 126.1 establishes the Local Government Board as the collegiate management body and whose Article 127 assigns it executive and administrative functions. The plan is operational, administrative, and organizational in nature, without affecting matters reserved for the Plenary.

Content and scope of the PAMIF

The plan establishes the organic and functional framework, the operating procedures, and the mechanisms for coordination and mobilization of municipal means and resources. Its contents include:

• Identification and assessment of forest fire risks within the municipal district.
• Zoning of the territory according to risks and possible consequences.
• Identification of vulnerable elements: population, infrastructure, assets, and specially protected areas.
• Organization and coordination of municipal services and participating agencies.
• Procedures for activation, resource mobilization, and action by emergency phases.
• Population protection measures, including evacuation, removal, and confinement.
• Information and communication mechanisms for citizens and the media.
• Catalog of available human and material means and resources.
• Implementation actions, training, exercises, simulations, review, and maintenance.

The plan distinguishes between a management structure and an operational structure, detailed in its Annex I. When municipal means prove insufficient, it provides for requesting the mobilization of resources from INFOCAEX, ensuring coordination with regional planning.

Favorable report and subsequent procedures

The Permanent Commission for Civil Protection of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura issued a favorable report on the plan in its session on August 25, 2026, fulfilling the prior procedure required by Decree 32/2023. In addition to approving the plan, the Local Government Board agreed to forward the agreement and the mandatory documentation to the General Secretariat for the Interior, Emergencies, and Civil Protection of the Junta de Extremadura to promote its registration in the Civil Protection Plans Registry of Extremadura, notify the agreement to the members of the PAMIF organic structure, and entrust the General Administration Delegation with the execution procedures. It was also ordered to forward the agreement to the Local Police, Parks and Gardens, Urban Planning, Public Works, Civil Protection, Social Services, Information Office, Audit, and Treasury.

The approval provides Mérida with an operational instrument to coordinate its services in the event of a forest fire and to request regional resources when its own are insufficient. Furthermore, the plan obliges the City Council to maintain its operability through training, exercises, and simulations, turning prevention into a continuous task rather than a one-time formality.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz, no. 186, of September 29, 2026, Local Administration, pp. 2-5 (official reference: Announcement 3746/2026).