wildfires campaign 2017

October is finishing and, in the northern hemisphere, fire campaign is not closed. Last week we could see how California was burning, Portugal was burning and Galicia & Asturias were burning.

In California the disaster is evident with an image of destroyed or damaged nearly 10,000 homes. Portugal suffered more than 200 fires in a week, over 40 died and 60 demaged people are counted after this episode. Galicia with near to 80 fires and Asturias with 35 more are the final count of this Nature blow. If we look for recent wildfires we find similar conditions and behaviors. I wrote about Canada and Russia fires last year, and also there are more examples this year in Chile (southern hemisphere).

16-5-26, 129,000 ha near Buryatia (Russia)

Russia, Canada, California, Portugal, Spain,... all are different in economic status and they have different concept of a fire brigade. Then, why all af them have suffered this important blow? Is it impossible to stop? Big planes, an uncountable number of helicopters, people and people working to extinguish fires near villages, neighborhoods, and farms. Fire trucks, hoses, water, drip torches and anchors, and may type of tools are not enough to control developed fires.

Any of this countries have the solution to extinguish last wildfires. To solve the problem we have to see the causes to resolve the consequences... and the causes are not pyromaniacs, speculators, laws. Causes have to be found in climate changes, acumulated dry in woods and ground, abandonment lands and forest. All of this factors produces a dangerous combination that fire uses to grow in force, intensity, capacity to throw fire focus in front of the fire advance. All of this key elements can be controled in a small number of times.

During wildfires in Portugal, Galicia and Asturias wind is a determinant factor that produces a new difficulty to extingtion. In others mix of houses (all the neighborhood) and forest make to change the objectve of firefighters strategy to protect houses, people and woods. Others (Russia, Canada and boreal wildfires) the Spring arrives earlier and the Sun can dry vegetation during more days producing a large forest zone with a high burn capacity.

This widfires which determinant factors are the reasons of high intensity energy and the cause of to be out of the extingtion capacity of all firefighter brigades. It does not depend from country, economical factors or number of firefighter, trucks and air atack capacity. The big problem is to avoid to arrive to a wildfire with its developed engine. A great wildfire creates around itself a microclima with local winds, throw of fire points, combustible dehydration. Firefighters can not fight against them.

There is only a outbreak of hope. Why this summer Catalunya did not suffer High intensity wildfires? I think there are two answers. One was the absence of windy days during the most heat days, this is one of the main factors to grow wildfire engine and the speed of flame advance increases difficulties of control. The second one is how to avoid that wildfire grow in normal conditions.

Probably in normal summer conditions, the celerity in response firefighter teams is the key to obtain an early control of wildfire, then the consequence is easy to obtain: Fire will no grow. But what happens in windy days? In Catalonia there are many recent examples of wildfire dyscontrol due to wind. Then celerity in the response is not enough to reach the fire front line. The amount of fire brigades means never is enough in case of high winds.

Then, what can we do? One option is knowed by all firefighter brigades (maybe not by all politicians) the forest exploitation, that reduces fire capacity to grow. And the other? This is the most difficult in this days, how can we avoid houses, neighborhoods integrate forests? All this constructions are done and many people goes every day to live in a "nature" environment. The question in how revert this situation?

While we think an answere next windy wildfire will led a mark of pain, burned hectares and smell of ash...