Ávila · Castilla y León · Spain · August 2021
The Navalacruz fire started on 14 August 2021. Two publications from Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition (MITECO) give different areas for the same incident. The September restoration announcement gives 22,037.85 hectares. The October campaign summary gives 21,312 hectares. The difference is 725.85 hectares, or 3.29% of the September figure. Each value belongs with the source and decision that produced it.
From rapid mapping to restoration
- 14 August. Copernicus describes a major wildfire starting near a road in the Cepeda de la Mora area. MITECO’s restoration announcement locates the outbreak between Sotalbo and Navalacruz. The date, affected area and official response identify the same event under these geographic labels.
- 16–23 August. Copernicus activated Rapid Mapping as EMSR538 on 16 August. Its product list records a first estimate delivered on 16 August, a delineation on 17 August, a monitoring delineation on 18 August and a grading product on 23 August. These are product delivery dates. Copernicus EMS activation and products
- 26 August. MITECO gives this as the extinction date. Castilla y León then began evaluating damage and the consequences of leaving vulnerable ground untreated.
- 28 September. MITECO announced emergency forest restoration of up to €699,999, with exposed slopes and autumn erosion among the concerns. MITECO restoration announcement
- 22 October. MITECO’s national campaign summary listed Navalacruz at 21,312 hectares in its review of large fires. MITECO national campaign summary
What the area figures can support
| Publication | Area | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 28 September 2021 | 22,037.85 ha | Incident extent in the emergency restoration announcement |
| 22 October 2021 | 21,312 ha | Incident area in the national campaign summary |
| Difference | 725.85 ha | September value minus October value |
The two MITECO releases leave the boundary method and reconciliation unspecified. The later publication date alone cannot establish that the October value supersedes the September estimate. A reproducible comparison would need the specific geometry and land-cover rules behind both statistics. The Copernicus product archive records which mapping products were delivered during the incident and gives a separate basis for inspecting the mapped footprint.
The downstream footprint
The September announcement says the fire perimeter affected 30% of the protected Sierras de la Paramera y Serrota site. The denominator in that statement is the protected site. In November, MITECO estimated more than 375 km of affected river reaches across the Duero and Tajo basins and reported €2.5 million in restoration works. River kilometres, affected protected-site share and incident hectares answer different questions. A restoration inventory can retain all three by recording which feature was measured and the programme responsible for it. MITECO river restoration announcement
Evidence limits
This is a comparison of dated documents. It leaves the discrepancy unresolved and does not assign the 725.85 hectares to any particular mapping or accounting rule. The announced restoration figures describe planned or awarded work at the dates of the releases. Assessing outcomes would require the work completion records and post-treatment monitoring.