The Regional Minister of the Presidency, Interior, Social Dialogue, and Administrative Simplification, Antonio Sanz, accompanied by the Mayor of Guadix, Jesús Lorente, inaugurated the new Forest Defense Center (Cedefo) of the Andalusian Forest Fire Extinguishing Service (Infoca) in the town of Hernán-Valle, Guadix (Granada).
Antonio Sanz emphasized that this Cedefo, after an investment of seven million euros, «enhances fire extinguishing infrastructures in the province of Granada and has strategic value for the control of the eastern area of Andalusia, as its new facilities allow concentration in a single base all existing resources: aerial, terrestrial, and human, a crucial aspect for a faster control and extinction of forest fires, both in the province of Granada and in Almería and Jaén.» The minister highlighted that «we continue to strengthen the most powerful fire prevention and extinguishing system in Spain.»
The significance of the location of this Cedefo lies in the fact that in its closest operating area are such important forest areas as the Mágina, Cazorla, Segura, and Las Villas ranges (Jaén), the María-Los Vélez, Estancias, and Filabres ranges (Almería), and the Castril, La Sagra, Baza, Sierra Nevada, La Peza-Huétor-Arana ranges (Granada). Additionally, it is situated in the heart of the Granada Geopark, which encompasses the Guadix-Baza-Huéscar depressions.
The Regional Government has adapted and expanded the old aerodrome owned by Infoca in the area, enabling the operation of two cargo planes on the ground and six helicopters simultaneously. Moreover, the construction of two new platforms for the deployment of aerial resources and complementary facilities for refueling has been carried out. The new Hernán-Valle Center has been built on a 13.5-hectare area where runways for aircraft and hangars for fire-fighting vehicles have been constructed.
The new Cedefo comprises three buildings: a main one for the use of technicians, administrative staff, and brigades assigned to the center, with a built area of 1,348 square meters, a residence with 340 square meters of built area for the temporary stay of pilots, copilots, and technicians linked to the center during the operational phase of the Infoca Plan, and a machinery warehouse, with a built area of 477 square meters, for the parking and maintenance of fire-fighting vehicles.
This infrastructure complements the Territorial Operational Center (COT) inaugurated last year in Granada, the BRICA base of Los Moralillos, and the three existing Forest Defense Centers in the province of Granada: Puerto Lobo (Víznar), La Resinera (Arenas del Rey), and Sierra Nevada (Órgiva).
The minister explained that this center is part of the modernization plan in infrastructures implemented by the Andalusian Government in recent years. «The Andalusian Government has invested 165 million euros in improving firefighting resources and infrastructures in Andalusia since 2020, an unprecedented figure.»
Sanz defended that the Infoca Plan «is a benchmark system in Spain and Europe, and we will continue to support it, taking care of it and making it even larger.» Thus, he explained that «the budget of the Infoca Plan has steadily increased since 2019, reaching 257 million euros in 2025, almost 6% more than in 2024, when it was 243 million.» This year, 111 million euros (43%) will be allocated to extinguishing and 146 million (57%) to prevention.
This commitment of the Andalusian Government will address the new challenges assigned to Infoca following its integration into the new Andalusian Emergency Agency (EMA), the largest in Spain, which started operating at the beginning of the year with nearly 5,000 personnel and a budget of 270 million euros.
The Regional Minister of the Presidency was accompanied at the event by Antonio Granados, the Junta’s delegate in Granada, Alejandro García, Director General of Emergencies and Civil Protection, Eduardo Martos, Deputy of Emergencies of the Granada Provincial Council, César Vicente Fernández, Technical Director of COR Infoca, David Rodríguez, Technical Subdirector of COR Infoca, Antonio Sánchez, Director of the Granada COP, Laura Raya, Deputy Director of the Granada Operational Center, and Javier Rodríguez, Provincial Head of the UPA in Granada.