Las Hurdes and Sierra de Gata · Cáceres · Spain · May 2023
The May 2023 Pinofranqueado fire crossed eight municipal boundaries. The regional emergency works plan recorded 10,863.79 hectares enclosed by its perimeter. The early statement from the Junta de Extremadura estimated that 500 to 1,000 hectares within that boundary might be green or unburned. The distinction affects how the same incident is reported, mapped and used to plan restoration.
From an overnight start to emergency works
- 17 May, 21:44. The official action plan records the incident start in Pinofranqueado. It describes an initial focus at La Muela, a second focus at La Sauceda and rapid westward spread into the Sierra de Gata under strong winds. The two focus locations are described within the same May incident.
- 22 May, 19:00. The regional government reported the fire controlled and lifted danger level 1. Its update the next day published the rounded preliminary perimeter estimate and the expected range for green and unburned areas. Junta de Extremadura update of 23 May
- 24 May. The regional government adopted the urgent-action designation, later published in the official gazette on 8 June. Its plan identified erosion and runoff into streams as risks requiring attention before seasonal rains. Diario Oficial de Extremadura, annex and action plan
Reconstructing the regional total
| Municipality | Hectares |
|---|---|
| Pinofranqueado | 6,128.43 |
| Torrecilla de los Ángeles | 1,658.13 |
| Hernán-Pérez | 1,124.73 |
| Descargamaría | 898.96 |
| Santibáñez el Alto | 748.80 |
| Cadalso | 210.88 |
| Robledillo de Gata | 87.79 |
| Caminomorisco | 6.07 |
| Total | 10,863.79 |
The eight entries sum to the plan’s published total. The origin municipality accounts for 56.4% of the perimeter and the other seven for 43.6%. Subtracting the regional update’s provisional 500–1,000-hectare range from its rounded estimate illustrates the scale of the distinction, about 9,900–10,400 hectares. That is an arithmetic scenario using the early estimate. Establishing the actual burned area would require delineating the unburned islands and documenting the resulting version.
From a perimeter to restoration priorities
The perimeter answers where to screen for effects. The action plan identifies slope erosion, runoff and infrastructure damage as reasons to prioritise particular sites. A useful restoration layer can record the outer boundary, observed burned patches and vulnerable drainage crossings separately. That makes the inputs to the area calculation and the choice of work sites auditable.
Evidence limits
The municipal totals describe the May 17 incident and its reported perimeter. The preliminary range for green or unburned areas is available only as an aggregate in the 23 May update. A map of specific unburned islands, or a final net burned-area estimate derived from them, would require additional evidence.