The autonomous regions, which oversee civil protection in Spain, have already requested the central government 41 times to activate the Military Emergency Unit (UME, a special force of the Armed Forces created 20 years ago that operates in disaster situations), Defence Minister Margarita Robles said at a hearing in the Senate (the upper house of the Spanish Cortes).

All requests have been responded to, with assets from the UME and the rest of the Armed Forces, the minister assured, emphasizing that Spanish law only allows military personnel to intervene in these situations at the request of regional governments. According to Margarita Robles, 5,600 troops and more than 200 resources "of all types"—air, land, and other—have already been mobilized to respond to an "unprecedented situation in August" in the country, due to the number of fires burning simultaneously and the "virulence" of the flames.

The minister also emphasized that during the wave of fires that has hit Spain since the beginning of the month, the work was carried out in an "absolutely coordinated" manner and "without controversy" between the "technical teams" of the autonomous communities and the military until August 15th. According to Margarita Robles, however, "surprisingly" on that date, during the night, and following statements from the national leadership of the People's Party (PP, right), the three regions most affected by the fires, all led by the PP (Galicia, Castile and León, and Extremadura), sent written requests to the central government for new resources, either "abstract" or in "incredible quantities" impossible to meet even using all the air resources available under the European Union's civil protection mechanism.