Statement by the President of the Government of Spain following his visit to the Advanced Command Post in Navaluenga

SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SPAIN, PEDRO SÁNCHEZ

Thank you very much, Alfonso, president of the Regional Government of Castilla y León. And, of course, I would also like to thank the mayor, the Government delegate, the regional minister, Lieutenant-General Marcos, the Secretary-General for Civil Protection - Virginia - and the Minister for Home Affairs - Fernando Grande-Marlaska - who are here with me for this brief address.

Four days ago I was visiting this very town, and in those mountains one could see the Civil Protection System and the FOCAS teams working at full capacity in response to the plumes of smoke rising from the fires. Fortunately, that is no longer the case today, although we are obviously still on alert and are speaking to you following what will be the final CECOD meeting of this national emergency.

As you know, a few days ago, following a proposal from the Community of Castilla y León and also from the Regional Government of Madrid, the response was escalated to Level 3 in the fight against this single fire affecting the province of Ávila and also the Community of Madrid, with operational command being handed over to Lieutenant General Marcos and the UME, with the support and coordination of the National Civil Protection System, which has been responsible for coordinating, firstly, the solidarity and resources of the other regional governments that have rallied to the aid of the province of Ávila and the Community of Madrid and, of course, for organising all the assistance, all the solidarity from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, as well as through bilateral agreements with third countries such as Qatar or, for example, Turkey.

Consequently, having considered the proposals put forward by both the Regional Government of Madrid and the Regional Government of Castilla y León, and having also taken into account the technical and operational criteria set out by the National Emergency Operations Command, Lieutenant General Marcos and, ultimately, the UME, we at the National Civil Protection System have decided to accept the proposal to move to Level 2 - Operational Level 2 - and thus to move beyond the national emergency.

I think this is very good news; it is reassuring and ensures that, indeed, we will continue to have a presence of the UME and the National Civil Protection System here in Ávila, and of course also in the Community of Madrid, now under the command of the Operational Directorate of the Community of Madrid and, naturally, that of the Regional Government of Castilla y León as well. And so, the residents of the affected areas - where we still need to continue with the cooling operations and consolidate the progress made so far - should rest assured, because there is a change in operational command, but, of course, the full capabilities of the UME and, naturally, the National Civil Protection System will remain here.

From a technical point of view, everything that is referred to in technical terms as 'de-escalation' has been negotiated, but I would like to assure local residents that, of course, we will continue to be on the ground, although we will obviously have to reorganise our resources, as is only to be expected, in light of how favourably the fire has been brought under control, because there are other areas here in Castilla y León - in Burgos, in Zamora, and of course in León - but in other parts of Spain - and I mustn't forget, of course, the province of Castellón - where fires are also demanding the resources of the National Civil Protection System.

Therefore, I believe that the conclusion we can draw from this first experience of a National Emergency Response led by the UME, in conjunction with the National Civil Protection System and with the collaboration of the public institutions involved, is that it was a reasonable success, with a highly effective response commensurate with the scale of the fire we were facing.

Earlier, the lieutenant general remarked, during this most recent CECOD meeting, that it had involved more than 150 hours of continuous, tireless work by all the operational units that have been fighting the fire on the front line. I believe that, at least on our part, we owe them a message of eternal gratitude because these are people who are literally risking their lives to protect the lives of their fellow citizens, to protect communities and to battle the flames.

That is the decision that was taken at the most recent CECOD meeting. The emergency continues; we have scaled back to operational level 2, but we will remain on alert in any case and will therefore continue to monitor how the situation develops. That is the reassurance I want to give to residents in the affected areas, both in Ávila and in the Community of Madrid.

The second point I would also like to raise is one of gratitude. This has also been discussed previously at CECOD. We come from different levels of government; whenever I refer to 'the State', I mean everyone, because the State encompasses everything from the smallest town to the Provincial Administration, the regional government and, of course, the Government of Spain. It is true that we come from different levels of the administration, but we have worked as if we were a single team, and I think it is very rewarding to see how we have fought against that common enemy - the fire - which truly demanded the very best from each and every one of us.

I would also like to thank - if I may - one person in particular: Virginia, of course, the Secretary-General of the National Civil Protection System, because she is working day and night. She is probably not a very well-known figure to the general public, unlike, naturally, the President of the Community of Castile and León, the Minister for Home Affairs or myself. But she is a crucial, crucial figure in the work we are carrying out throughout the year, because it is not just about summer fires, but also about gales, storms, cold fronts - and, ultimately, droughts as well… All the various manifestations of this climate emergency that the world is currently experiencing and which is also having a particularly severe impact on the Iberian Peninsula and, consequently, on Spain. So, Virginia, thank you so very much for your work and your dedication. And, as I was saying earlier, tomorrow we're going to have a meeting at the Civil Protection building in Madrid - which is effectively their home, as they spend day and night there - and that, too, is an example of the commitment and dedication to public service shown by the entire team at the National Civil Protection System.

And two final points. As President Mañueco mentioned earlier, we are facing a new heatwave which, according to the AEMET, is set to last until this coming Sunday. We are therefore experiencing extreme temperatures. Let us all - every single citizen - take the utmost care and take every possible precaution. Because, in fact, some of the most devastating fires we are currently facing - and to which we must respond with all our resources - are caused by carelessness, by human activity. And that, in short, must also make us reflect on how we should behave, and how we must exercise the utmost caution and take every possible precaution. Of course, I also want to assure the public that acts of this kind cannot, and will not, go unpunished. And that is why it is also very important to have, as we do at CECOD, the Crown Prosecutor of the State involved in environmental matters.

And one final point: I would like to thank the media for their work.

I keep coming back to this point. We attach great importance to combating disinformation and hoaxes, which only serve to cause distress to people who are already deeply distressed - either because they have, in fact, had to leave their homes or because they are in lockdown - and who are therefore exposed to misinformation and hoaxes that only serve to make their situation worse. Thank you very much to the media. We would once again ask residents in the affected areas to keep themselves informed via these reliable media sources and the official communication channels of both the regional governments and the Government of Spain. And of course, if you have any queries, please speak to your local representatives - that is, the mayors - who are, in fact, the ones who liaise with local residents during particularly difficult times such as those we have experienced here in the province of Ávila, to give just one example.

Finally, you've heard me say this many times before, but I'm a bit of a pain: we must stand united in our response, but we must also stand united in prevention and reconstruction. There is then, the hand of the Government of Spain extended to secure the agreement our country needs - probably the most important agreement our country needs - which is a State pact to tackle the climate emergency. We must also prepare for the period before and after, and not just focus on the response to the fires, which, I must emphasise once again, has been exemplary. That is all, thank you very much.

(Transcript edited by the State Secretariat for Communication)