The Spanish government has declared Sanaüja and Paüls disaster zones due to the fires.

MadridThe Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday the declaration of all areas that have suffered fires or severe downpours this summer as seriously affected by civil protection emergencies. These are 121 episodes – 114 fires and 7 storms – that occurred between June 23 and August 25, in what is one of the "worst environmental disasters" in the State, with significant damage to public and private property. In total, disaster zones have been declared in all autonomous communities except the Basque Country, but with around fifteen active fires still present across the State, the scope of the measure could be expanded. Included are the fires that occurred in early July in Pauls —a firefighter lost his life— and in the Segarra —specifically in Sanaüja. In fact, episodes offloods that occurred on July 13 and the 22nd in Catalonia.

The amount of aid

The Spanish government is thus opening the way for affected individuals and companies to claim compensation. There were eight fatalities and an as yet undetermined number of injuries and destruction of infrastructure. This aid is regulated by a 2005 royal decree that establishes, among other things, €18,000 in the case of the loss of a family member or €15,120 for the total destruction of a home. These amounts have become obsolete, and in recent tragedies, the Spanish government has been approving additional supplements, as occurred with the La Palma volcano or the DANA in Valencia. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has announced that work is underway to amend this decree to increase the amounts. Thus, initially, those who already apply for aid will be subject to current legislation, but additional supplements may be approved, although Interior Ministry sources have not provided details of how much they could increase. Other aid, such as tax exemptions and labor market measures, may be applied later.

In addition, the Council of Ministers has approved a royal decree proposed by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, which establishes guidelines and criteria to be taken into account by the autonomous communities when preparing annual plans for fire prevention, surveillance, and extinction. The PP has been claiming for days that this process was pending, in order to justify why some administrations did not have fire prevention plans ready, but Spanish government sources point out that the forest law already requires the autonomous communities to have them prepared.