The emergency phase of the Special Forest Fires Plan has been launched in Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia, so far only in Álava. Iñaki Noriza, Emergency Technician of the Basque Government, said in Euskadi Irratia that the situation will worsen and restrictive measures will be put in place, among which private vehicles are prohibited from circulating in red alert zones from today. In addition, the Department of Safety has extended the orange heat alert at the CAPV until Saturday, as the temperature in some places will be around 40ºC.

The Government of Navarra activated the Emergency Fire Plan on Monday and remains in force. In the territories in which there is the so-called yellow high-temperature alert in Navarre, agricultural and forestry machinery cannot be used in the afternoon, from 14:00 to 18:00, as these machines run the risk of igniting a spark of fire. Among these machines are harvesting, packing the harvest, straw choppers, loaders, etc.

According to Noriza, the restrictive measures will affect any action likely to pose a risk in Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia and Álava, such as fireworks that are thrown into the forest environment, the use of private vehicles or agricultural machinery, among others. It stresses that other activities such as smoking, barbecuing or moving with the vehicle should be avoided.

Rule 30-30

The possibility of igniting fire increases when the 30-30 rule is met, that is, if the temperature exceeds 30ºC, if the weak winds exceed the speed of 30 km/h and the humidity level is less than 30%. When these three weather conditions occur on the same day, the risk of fire is much higher. Yesterday all three were accomplished throughout the Basque Country.