The Alicante Provincial Council has unveiled its own plan to aid Vall d’Ebo in the wake of a devastating fire that burned across 12,000 hectares. Carlos Mazón, the head of the institution, announced this morning an urgent package of support aimed at the mayors of the affected towns. The plan rests on three main pillars: a tourism promotion strategy to attract visitors, an expansive road and highway program to improve connections between the valleys, and a package of tax relief through SUMA designed to ease the financial burden on residents of the affected municipalities. A Provincial technical team will assist with project preparation and the administrative handling of documentation. Mazón outlined measures focused on municipal cooperation, environmental protection, and the use of European funds.
Mazón held two weeks of discussions with the mayors of the Marina Alta and El Comtat districts at the Vall d’Ebo Town Hall, stressing that it is time to begin the recovery process. He noted that the Diputación has presented a swift, agile aid package to the fifteen municipalities most closely involved, emphasizing its role as the closest administrative authority to the councils.
The tax component is crucial for residents and local representatives, so a deferral of SUMA tax payments, along with installment options and special arrangements for residents in the two districts, was announced. Mazón urged districts to contact their local offices to access these tax benefits and confirmed that the measures extend to personal income tax allocations as compensation to regional authorities and to affected self-employed professionals such as farmers and ranchers.
He also highlighted the need to boost internal tourism through the Costa Blanca Board of Trustees. He indicated that for the remainder of the year and into 2023, one million euros would be made available to the affected municipalities for tourism and promotional initiatives, including cycling tourism, gastro-tourism, and nature-based tourism.
Finally, Mazón underscored a commitment to a comprehensive plan for restoring state roads and highways, aiming to increase aid percentages for towns at risk of depopulation, which includes the majority of the affected communities. The targeted extraordinary funding ranges from seven hundred thousand to one million euros.
Javier Sendra, Mazón’s assistant for Emergencies, Population Reduction and Demographic Strategy, along with Highway Director Alejandro Morant and Youth official Javier Gutiérrez, joined Environment Minister Miguel Ángel Sánchez, his deputy Juan Bautista Roselló, and José Mancebo, President of the Provincial Tourism Board, in the discussions. The president expressed his intention to cooperate with the Generalitat Valenciana to accelerate recovery by coordinating technical, administrative, and bureaucratic work, not twice but overall, and urged trust in the Diputación and municipalities to implement the aid.
Mazón also thanked the Provincial Consortium firefighters for their frontline work and praised the mayors for their dedication, promising to pay tribute to their efforts in due course.
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Leonor Nazaria, mayor of La Vall d’Ebo, expressed satisfaction with the sense of unity shown during the meetings and a readiness to pursue necessary steps. She noted agreed measures included creating clear terraces, replanting affected areas, and stimulating the local economy.
The meeting was attended by the mayors of La Vall d’Ebo, Planes, Balones, L’Atzúbia, Benimassot, Castell de Castells, Fageca, Famorca, Pego, Tollos, La Vall d’Alcalà, La Vall de Laguar, Vall de Gallinera, Orba, and Tormos, among others.
Direct and extraordinary actions
Among the immediate measures is a support service for municipal documentary procedures, coordinated by Javier Gutiérrez, which provides guidance and helps boards navigate processes involving the Provincial Council, the Generalitat Valenciana, and the national government. These contributions will be managed through this unit.
In tourism, the Costa Blanca Board plans to allocate subsidies totaling 30,000 euros per municipality to support signaling and promotional campaigns. Promotional materials will be distributed, specialized press trips organized, and adventure activities and foreign-student reporting collaborations with the University of Alicante and Miguel Hernández will be developed.
On the road front, a comprehensive plan aims to connect the valleys more efficiently during emergencies and to build resilience against future fires. The project will link various valleys and create alternate routes to the provincial network. About 600,000 euros in nominative aid will fund the road improvements, including revisions to CV-712 linking Vall d’Ebo with Pego and CV-713 from Planes to Tollos, with a focus on reducing curves and improving accessibility for towns facing depopulation risks.
Environmental efforts will target soil and biodiversity preservation and vegetation restoration. Field technicians have started a situation assessment and will request a Work Desk with the Generalitat to advance forest-related plans. Proactive measures will gather pre-approved projects for municipal forest lands and fire prevention strategies ahead of time, ensuring smoother execution when funds arrive.
Economically, the SUMA tax office will advance extraordinary payments to councils, defer installments, and extend payment windows for citizens to improve liquidity in the towns.
All these measures, along with other plans to be rolled out in the coming weeks, will be coordinated with the municipalities through ongoing communication to assess damage firsthand and identify the most urgent needs.