02.03.2018

The objectives achieved by these emergency hydrological and forestry actions in the areas affected by the forest fire in question were as follows:

• Control erosion processes and water pollution due to runoff.

• Restore vegetation cover in the shortest possible time.

• Restore the functionality of the affected road network.

Among the main actions that have been carried out, the following stand out:

• Hydrotechnics , water control and channel adaptation : Sloughs or small transverse dikes with wood have been built in gullies and torrents, with the aim of retaining sediment, reducing the longitudinal slope of the channel and promoting the growth of vegetation.

• Silvicultural treatments : Thinning, pruning and thinning of re-sprouting forest stands have been carried out, as well as the grinding of standing burned trees, in order to promote the regeneration of affected forest stands.

• Control of degraded areas : Mulching with cereal straw has been carried out in the areas with the greatest slope and risk of soil loss to reduce surface runoff, as well as planting riparian vegetation in the most affected areas.

• Pest control : In order to prevent the proliferation of borer beetles that may appear after forest fires, insect control has been carried out using pheromone traps and the felling and shredding of trees that may harbor insect populations.

• Road network repair : Improvements have also been made to restore the functionality of forest tracks affected by the fire by removing plant debris from ditches and waterways, as well as resurfacing the road surface.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Environment (MAPAMA) , through its General Directorate of Rural Development and Forestry Policy (DGDRPF), has completed an investment of €250,000.00 in environmental restoration works on the land affected by the forest fire that occurred on April 19, 2017, affecting various towns in the Oza Valley, in the municipality of Ponferrada, province of León. The total area affected was approximately 1,118 hectares. The perimeter of the fire affected the area known as Tebaida Berciana, classified as a "Property of Cultural Interest", various Public Utility Mountains, as well as partially lands of the Natura 2000 Network declared as SAC "Montes Aquilianos y Sierra del Teleno" and ZEPA "Montes Aquilianos".

These efforts, along with other similar efforts to restore large forest fires carried out by MAPAMA (DGDRPF), are part of a series of collaborative and supportive actions for the Autonomous Communities in the areas of hydrological and forest restoration and the fight against erosion and desertification. They represented a total investment of €7,240,444.23 in 2017.