Por Redaccion 
The 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 Firefighting Service (Infoca) in the town of Hernán-Valle, in Guadix (Granada).
Antonio Sanz emphasized that this Cedefo, with an investment of seven million euros, «improves firefighting infrastructures in the province of Granada and also has strategic value for the control of the eastern zone of Andalusia, as its new facilities allow concentrating all existing resources: aerial, land, and human, a fundamental aspect for a faster control and extinguishing 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 value of the location of this Cedefo lies in its closest operational area, which includes important forest areas such as the mountain ranges of Mágina, Cazorla, Segura, and Las Villas (Jaén), the mountain ranges of María-Los Vélez, Estancias, and Filabres (Almería), and the mountain ranges of Castril, La Sagra, Baza, Sierra Nevada, La Peza-Huétor-Arana (Granada). Additionally, it is located in the heart of the Geopark of Granada, which covers the depression of the Guadix-Baza-Huéscar Basins.
The Regional Government has refurbished and expanded the old aerodrome owned by Infoca in the area, allowing for the simultaneous operation of two cargo planes and six helicopters. Furthermore, two new platforms for positioning aerial resources and complementary facilities for refueling have been constructed. The new Center in Hernán-Valle has been built on a 13.5-hectare area, where runways for aircraft and hangars for firefighting vehicles have been constructed.
The new Cedefo consists of three buildings: a main one for the use of technicians, administrators, and brigades assigned to the center, with a constructed area of 1,348 square meters, a residence with 340 square meters of constructed 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 constructed area of 477 square meters, for the parking and maintenance of firefighting vehicles.
This infrastructure adds to the Territorial Operating Center (COT) inaugurated last year in Granada, the BRICA base in Los Moralillos, and the three Forest Defense Centers existing 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 infrastructure modernization plan launched 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 amount.»
Sanz defended that the Infoca Plan is «a benchmark system in Spain and Europe, and we will continue to invest in it, taking care of it and making it even larger.» 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 entrusted to Infoca following its integration into the new Andalusian Emergency Agency (EMA), the largest in Spain, which began operating earlier this year with nearly 5,000 personnel and a budget of 270 million euros.
The Minister of the Presidency was accompanied at the event by Antonio Granados, the Government Delegate in Granada, Alejandro García, the Director General of Emergencies and Civil Protection, Eduardo Martos, the Deputy of Emergencies of the Granada Provincial Council, César Vicente Fernández, the Technical Director of COR Infoca, David Rodríguez, the Assistant Technical Director of COR Infoca, Antonio Sánchez, the Director of the Granada COP, Laura Raya, the Deputy Director of the Granada Operating Center, and Javier Rodríguez, the Provincial Head of UPA in Granada.