Valencia has taken an important step in protecting one of its most valuable natural areas. The city council has installed and activated three new SIDEINFO water cannons in the Devesa de El Saler, adding to the eight already in operation. The protected forest area now has eleven anti-fire cannons designed to strengthen its defence against the growing risk of wildfires.
Spain Expat Press Editorial Team
The question almost asks itself: could these cannons soon appear in other parts of Spain? The short answer is yes, probably — but only in specific high-risk areas. They are unlikely to become a universal solution across the whole country. These systems are especially useful in forest zones close to towns, residential areas, campsites, natural parks or valuable environmental spaces where a fire could spread rapidly and put both people and nature at risk.
The SIDEINFO system works through a high-pressure hydraulic network that feeds large sprinkler cannons. These cannons spray water over the vegetation, creating a kind of “green firebreak”. The aim is not simply to extinguish flames in the same way as a fire engine or a water-dropping aircraft. Instead, the system can be used preventively to moisten the area, reduce the intensity of a potential fire and make it harder for flames to find dry fuel.
In El Saler, the new cannons stand between 12 and 16 metres high and can throw water up to 42 metres. They are connected to a water tank and, according to Valencia City Council, the eleven cannons together can move up to 10,000 litres of water per minute. The council says this is almost twice the amount released by a conventional firefighting aircraft in a single drop. The system is also connected to a weather station and includes surveillance cameras. It can be activated when the wildfire risk is at its highest, or when conditions such as extreme heat, low humidity and strong winds make the forest especially vulnerable.
Ya han activado los cañones refrescantes del gran parque central de #ElCañaveral.
Con ello se pretende combatir la ola de calor de todos los vecinos que a diario pasean por él 🫠 pic.twitter.com/W2RBGZ3h64
— HUGꙨИE 🌐 (@hug0nES) July 7, 2026
The measure comes at a particularly sensitive time. Spain is facing increasingly intense summers, longer dry spells and a higher risk of wildfires across many regions. High temperatures, wind, low humidity and dry vegetation can quickly turn forest areas into dangerous tinderboxes.
The problem is no longer simply that wildfires happen. It is how they burn. In recent years, Spain and other Mediterranean countries have seen growing concern over so-called megafires: faster, more destructive fires that cover larger areas and are much harder to control. The Mediterranean coast, Andalusia, Extremadura, Castilla y León and parts of northern Spain are among the areas where wildfire risk can become especially serious during heatwaves.
That is why systems such as SIDEINFO could play a bigger role in prevention. They do not replace firefighters, aircraft, forest management, surveillance or public responsibility. But they can become an additional tool, especially in places where fire could move from woodland to homes, campsites or critical infrastructure within minutes.
However, major questions remain. How much would a wider rollout cost? Where would the system make real sense? And, perhaps most importantly, where would the water come from? In Valencia, the first phase of the El Saler protection system cost more than €1.5 million. The city is already working on further phases, including separating drinking water from non-drinking water so the system can be expanded without depending on the most valuable water resources during periods of drought.
So, will the whole of Spain soon have these wildfire cannons? No. But many regions may now be watching Valencia closely. Residential developments surrounded by pine forests, natural parks with heavy visitor numbers, villages near dry woodland, campsites and critical infrastructure could all become natural candidates for similar systems in the future.
The future of wildfire prevention will not depend on one single miracle solution. It will require technology, better forest management, constant monitoring, public awareness and adaptation to a changing climate. The El Saler cannons are not the answer to every wildfire in Spain. But they do raise an uncomfortable question: if we already know that fires are becoming more dangerous, should we keep waiting until the forest burns — or start defending it before it is too late?
