Jesús Santiago Notario del Pino
Professor of the Department of Animal Biology, Edaphology and Geology of the University of La Laguna
Why is it proving so difficult to bring the fires in Madrid-Ávila and La Vall d'Uixó under control?
“When a fire is so difficult to control, the most common cause is usually a combination of the following factors: (i) a high load of plant fuel; (ii) very unfavourable weather conditions (high temperatures, low relative humidity, strong and dry winds); (iii) steep and/or rugged terrain, to which we must add (iv) homes, towns or housing estates (i.e. the urban-forest interface), which are usually a priority target for evacuation and fire-fighting efforts, forcing a variable amount of resources to be diverted, even if only temporarily”.
Do we have to get used to this type of fire, which exceeds our fire-fighting capacity?
“If the issue of fuel load is not addressed, I think we’re going to have to get used to it. As many forestry specialists and engineers often say: what we don’t manage ourselves, the fire will manage. The problem is that the fuel load has grown significantly over recent decades, mainly as a result of the exodus from rural areas, and something like this cannot be easily resolved in the short term; I do not believe there are any miracle solutions (nor any cost-effective ones) for a problem of this magnitude.”
What can be done when the fire exceeds the firefighting capacity?
“Remove fuel wherever feasible so that, when the fire front arrives, there isn’t much left to burn and the intensity of the fire is reduced, making it possible to tackle it. On paper it seems simple, but in practice it can be extremely complicated due to the high speed at which the fire spreads (which sometimes overcomes defence lines with great ease), as well as the creation of secondary hotspots caused by the emission of incandescent embers (sparks) that spread through the air; these can cross those lines and endanger firefighting personnel.”
Are we prepared to tackle them?
“From a distance, I get the impression that we are not entirely prepared. In fact, one need only look at our immediate geographical neighbours (Portugal, France, Italy, Greece) to realise that this is a supranational problem.”