Queen Sofia Visits Galicia to Inspect Wildfire Recovery Efforts

Queen Sofia visited the Galician municipalities of Rubiá and Folgoso do Courel on Wednesday to inspect environmental restoration work funded partly by her foundation. The visit highlighted the €65,000 contribution from the Fundación Reina Sofía to aid recovery of areas affected by wildfires in the region Source: lavanguardia, abces.

The projects

The funds were allocated to two specific actions:

• Restoration of a traditional stone beehive (albariza) in the Serra da Enciña da Lastra natural park, to protect beehives from bears and other predators Source: lavanguardia, abces. This project cost €50,000 Source: abces.
• Reforestation of 1.37 hectares in O Vilar (Folgoso do Courel) with native broadleaf species, including a centennial chestnut grove damaged by fire Source: abces, infobae.

Discrepancies in fire data

Sources differ on the scale of the fires. Lavanguardia reports fires last summer burned over 100,000 hectares across Galicia Source: lavanguardia, while ABC cites official data of 118,966 hectares Source: abces. Furthermore, infobae notes that the O Vilar area was hit by fires in 2022 that destroyed 11,100 hectares Source: infobae, suggesting some restoration efforts address older blazes as well.

Queen Sofia was accompanied by Galicia's environment counselor Ángeles Vázquez and other officials Source: abces, infobae.