Cristina Santín Nuño
Senior scientist at the CSIC and head of the Department of Biodiversity and Global Change of the Joint Institute for Biodiversity Research (University of Oviedo-CSIC)
With so many days of heatwave and high risk of fire, is it normal to have so many fires at the same time, or is this unusual?
"It's to be expected. After a spring as wet as this year's, when vegetation has grown a lot, we now find ourselves in a situation of extreme heat, strong winds and a long period (in some cases several months) without rain. If we add to this the fact that it is relatively easy for a spark to start a fire somewhere (whether due to dry storms, negligence and accidents or even deliberate causes), we have all the ingredients for the “Molotov cocktail” that we are seeing right now, not only in Spain but also in other Mediterranean countries".
What is the outlook for how this will develop?
"It will depend a lot on the weather over the next few days. We must not forget that, in many cases, when fires are very large, fast and intense, they cannot be completely controlled, no matter how many firefighting resources are dedicated to them.
In principle, it seems that the current heatwave will begin to subside in a couple of days, so that could give us a respite. With such a dry environment and such flammable landscape as we have now, extreme precautions must be taken to prevent negligence or accidents from starting fires that not only cause major environmental problems but also endanger the population."
What is your assessment of the fires so far this summer?
"Personally, today is a sad day for me because I am from El Bierzo and Las Médulas has burned down, a beautiful place with centuries-old chestnut trees and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Spain, we are facing a new reality of forest fires because our landscapes have changed a lot in recent decades (there is more vegetation that is susceptible to burning) and now, climate change is creating more opportunities for these landscapes to burn in a more widespread, intense and dangerous way. There is much to be done, such as improving fire prevention and communication, and ensuring that people living in rural areas are clear about what they need to do in these situations.