One year after the major wildfire in Jarilla is entering Villar de Plasencia the summer with unease. The town council and residents report dense grass growth on burned land and criticise the fact that affected areas have not been cleared as extensively as hoped. The mayor, María José Pérez speaks of “great concern” and “fear” in the community.
The fire broke out on 12 August 2025. According to official figures, it affected more than 17,300 hectares in the valleys of Valle del Ambroz and Valle del Jerte in Cáceres province and is considered the largest in Extremadura since records began. In the first few hours, the Situación Operativa 2 of the Plan INFOEX was activated. The towns of Cabezabellosa, Jarilla and Villar de Plasencia were evacuated, with hundreds of people temporarily accommodated in Plasencia. At the end of September 2025, the authorities declared the fire extinguished. Months later, the Junta de Extremadura classified the affected area as a Zona de Actuación Urgente to enable interventions to be carried out more quickly.
Attributed statements: María José Pérez called in local media for faster maintenance of burned areas and urged landowners to take care. According to elDiario.es reporting, a substantial part of the regional prevention budget went unused in 2025; the outlet attributes this to the PP government then in office in the Junta de Extremadura. No independent official detailed figures on budget commitments were available at the reporting cut-off.
Responsibilities: The Junta de Extremadura, the affected municipalities and landowners are responsible for prevention and restoration. Operational firefighting falls within the remit of Plan INFOEX.
Consequences and context: In the short term, uncleared fuel and lush vegetation increase the risk of fire spreading rapidly in hot, windy conditions. Classification as a Zona de Actuación Urgente allows state-funded emergency measures, but requires prioritisation and administrative decisions. In the medium term, decisions on erosion control, reforestation and the maintenance of privately owned land will be key to the landscape’s resilience.
It remains unclear what specific clearance and prevention work was carried out within the perimeter between autumn 2025 and summer 2026, and what deadlines apply to further measures. The Junta de Extremadura has yet to publish a fully documented account of the process with reliable dates.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).