Major coordination failures between the Xunta and the Oímbra municipality have been identified as a basic factor behind the devastating wildfire that swept through Ourense last August. The prosecutor's office says mismanaged decisions and unclear directives allowed high-risk roadside clearing to continue despite extreme fire danger, sparking Galicia's second most destructive blaze on record. Broader findings in the Fiscalía Superior de Galicia’s 2025 annual report also point to coordination problems in fire investigations. Parallel inquiries by the regional forestry administration and the Guardia Civil can waste time and resources. The report called for clearer divisions of responsibility and better cooperation among investigative bodies.
The investigation centers on the events leading up to the fire, which the supplied account puts at 23,000 hectares and which left three young brigade members seriously injured. Later reporting by Televisión de Galicia (G24) described approximately 26,000 hectares affected by the fire that began in Oímbra and spread to Laza, reflecting its wider footprint across municipalities. The prosecutor says that, even as temperatures soared and strong winds battered the region, both the Xunta and the local council, each governed by the Partido Popular, failed to halt hazardous vegetation clearing. A tractor carrying out the work ignited the fire. It was operated by an employee of Agro Estévez, a private contractor hired by the regional government.
The only person formally charged is the Agro Estévez worker. But, the prosecutor has recommended dropping the case against him, arguing that he was following work orders and had not been informed of any explicit ban on such activities under the prevailing weather conditions. The prosecutor's report notes that the employee was not acting on his own initiative and that, under Spanish law, criminal liability for reckless wildfire cannot be assigned to public or private legal entities. The recommendation is not a final judicial ruling.
The prosecutor suggests that responsibility for the errors should be addressed through civil proceedings instead of criminal charges. The case file says the worker received no direct notification of any prohibition, while contradictory instructions and unclear communication from the Xunta's offices in Santiago contributed to confusion on the ground. The Fiscalía’s regional assessment also stresses the need to clarify the respective investigative roles of state units such as Seprona and autonomous units within the Consellería do Medio Rural, particularly in border areas where coordination can be more difficult. Those broader findings describe institutional challenges; they do not determine responsibility in the Oímbra case.
During her testimony, Oímbra's mayor, Ana Villarino, acknowledged that both municipal and Xunta-hired tractors continued clearing roadsides despite the fire risk. She cited an email from Seaga, the Xunta's agricultural services company, warning that the work should stop because of the weather, but said she assumed the regional administration would notify the contractor directly. Other witnesses confirmed that the order to stop came from the Xunta but was obscured by conflicting messages.
Galician president Alfonso Rueda has so far declined to comment on the management of the Oímbra fire, citing the ongoing judicial investigation. The disaster unfolded between August 12 and 31, while Ourense faced multiple simultaneous wildfires. Copernicus-based figures reported by Europa Press show Spain’s burned area rising from 45,221 hectares on August 5, 2025, to 367,520 hectares on August 19, a measure of how quickly the national fire crisis escalated that month. The Oímbra incident has drawn comparisons with other major blazes in Spain, including the Los Gallardos fire in Almería, where authorities also faced scrutiny over their response and coordination, as detailed in this report on the Los Gallardos wildfire response.
More than a year after the fire, restoration work in the affected mountains has continued, with crews improving tracks and drainage while removing burned timber, information from G24. The prolonged recovery shows how the consequences extended beyond the emergency response into ongoing land management. Spain has seen a rise in large-scale wildfires in recent years, often fueled by heatwaves and prolonged drought. Galicia, with its extensive forested areas, remains particularly vulnerable. The Oímbra case shows why clear communication and decisive action across all levels of government matter when fire risk rises.
