The owners of the burned farms in Las Hurdes and Miravete have three months to remove the wood

The steps to recover the land affected by the virulent fires in July in the province of Cáceres are already known. The Official Gazette of Extremadura (DOE) has published this Wednesday the areas of urgent action after the devastating fires in Las Hurdes and Casas de Miravete, and with them, the logging allowed to the owners of the farms and municipalities.

The fire that began on July 11 in Las Hurdes, “of great virulence and intensity”, devastated 3,323.23 hectares, mainly in the municipalities of Ladrillar (3,076.83) and Nuñomoral (245.96), in addition to Casares de Las Hurdes (0.44). According to the first estimates of the Board, approximately half of the area burned by the flames, which reached 30 meters in height, is forest (55.56%), followed by plantation forest (18.47%).

The other area of ​​urgent action is the Campo Arañuelo region (Sierra de Miravete) and the area of ​​influence of the Monfragüe National Park. The flames, which began on July 14, burned 2,755 hectares in Casas de Miravete (1,714), Jaraicejo (993) and Romangordo (47) in the Sierra de Miravete-Monfragüe.

rain damage

Given the serious situation created by this natural disaster, the Department of the need to act “immediately, in order to alleviate, as far as possible, some of the harmful effects caused, taking into account that an important part of the The land is within the limits of the Monfragüe National Park (398.23 hectares) and in areas with a high risk of erosion«, which will mean that after the first autumn rains (which have already fallen heavily in the province) it will produce a “significant contribution of ash and runoff to water courses, as well as damage to forest tracks, water passages and other infrastructure, and to priority habitats affected, according to the report from the National Park directorate.”

In this area of ​​high ecological value, the valuation of forest damage amounts to 28,740,849 euros.

The resolutions published today in the DOE indicate in their annexes the list of farms that remain within the timber harvesting plan. The resolution of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Population and Territory. Likewise, it provides for the emergency contracting of actions for the restoration of the vegetal cover; and the works and works contemplated in the plan are declared of public utility.

Cut the wood

The Board authorizes the owners of the land to cut and extract the wood. To do so, they have a period of three months from the publication in the DOE.

In the event that the wood is not removed within this time, the Administration will include its extraction among the works for the execution of the action plan, without compensation for the owner of the land who has not removed it.

In the same way, it is authorized that the municipalities that own Forests of Public Utility can proceed to the emergency contracting of the use of wood, within a period of three months from the publication of this agreement, extendable in another three if the The contract could not be executed for reasons beyond the control of the contractor, and in any case before the work included in the action plan begins in the specific area of ​​use.

In the same way, it is authorized that the councils that own the affected forests can proceed to the emergency contracting of the use of wood.

grazing

The resolutions also authorize grazing in the areas where it is currently being carried out, always with stocking rates equal to or lower than the current ones.

The Ministry emphasizes that the negative effects of the fire on the ecosystem may be even greater if emergency actions are not carried out, mainly aimed at minimizing erosion by rain, which due to the loss of vegetation cover together with rain runoff it will produce the dragging of the soil, nutrients and the seed bank available after the fire, the latter being so important for natural regeneration.

flood risk

Water erosion produces a loss of forest soil that reduces the productivity of the mountains and makes future regeneration difficult; Likewise, by reducing the infiltration of rainwater in the subsoil and its retention capacity, floods of water are produced in the populations of the catchment basin, which can suffer damage to roads, houses, orchards and other buildings due to the violence of overflowing riverbeds, as well as possible problems in the quality of the waters to supply nearby towns.