Sagunto's rural work teams step up forest clearing to prevent fires
A team of 59 workers is clearing farm and forest tracks in Sagunto until 23 September, backed by €447,097 in funding to help firefighters reach rural areas in case of blaze.
Sagunto City Council has run summer rural maintenance teams since 1 July, clearing forest land, cutting back overgrowth and repairing farm tracks across the whole municipality. The team, made up of 52 labourers and seven foremen, will keep working until 23 September.
The jobs are funded through an employment plan backed by the SEPE (Spain's national employment service), which is contributing €365,727. This type of state programme for town councils dates back to 1986, when it was created as the Plan de Empleo Rural (Rural Employment Plan), the forerunner of today's rural farm-employment scheme. A further €81,370 comes from a municipal budget line managed by the Agriculture Department, bringing the total investment to €447,097.
The main goal is to keep farm and forest tracks clear enough for fire engines to pass and to guarantee safe evacuation routes for people living in the countryside around Sagunto. Crews are working on tracks including Camino Viejo de Teruel, Povitxol and Isleta, the Llíria and Gausa tracks, Hostalera and Fontanelles, Montíber and Torreta, as well as areas near the Calderona hills and Rubio/Escales. Part of this land lies within Sierra Calderona Natural Park, declared in January 2002, which covers 18,019 hectares across twelve towns in the Alto Palancia, Camp de Túria and Camp de Morvedre districts.
Teams are also working along the Acequia del Rey and Acequia de Gabau irrigation channels, the Almardà-Almenara wetlands and the Camino Salvadanys, plus clean-up work at Font de Ribera and forest plots near Camino Viejo de Teruel and Rubio. The teams are repairing potholes and installing signs, mirrors and road markings to improve safety.
Another line of work is flood-risk prevention along the Palancia river and its bridges in the urban area. Although the Palancia runs almost dry through Sagunto — much of its flow is diverted for irrigation via the Acequia Mayor, which has allowed part of the riverbed to be turned into parks and walking routes — its channel and bridges still need regular upkeep.
Mayor Darío Moreno and Agriculture councillor Ana María Quesada visited several of the crews this week to thank them for their work, noting that these tracks are both the way in for firefighters and the way out for residents in an emergency. Quesada warned that heat and fire-risk alerts can force temporary pauses, though the council still expects to finish all the work before the employment plan ends. According to El Periódico de Aquí and Sagunto City Council, with additional background from Wikipedia on the Palancia river and Sierra Calderona.