[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/7014\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u2018It eats everything\u2019 \u2013 the new breed of wildfire that\u2019s impossible to predict\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClimate change and negligent forest management are causing higher-intensity, faster-moving fires that can generate enough\u0026nbsp;energy\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;evolve into\u0026nbsp;erratic\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/e360.yale.edu\/features\/fire-induced-storms-a-new-danger-from-the-rise-in-wildfires\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Efirestorms\u003C\/a\u003E, known as pyroCbs, in the face of which first responders can do little.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Traditionally we could predict the fire behaviour and the direction of the fire but under those conditions and those moments it\u2019s not possible,\u2019\u0026nbsp;said Marc\u0026nbsp;Castellnou, president of the Spanish independent\u0026nbsp;wildfire prevention group Pau Costa Foundation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs\u0026nbsp;a wildland fire analyst\u0026nbsp;with the Catalan fire services,\u0026nbsp;Castellnou\u0026nbsp;reconstructs wildfires using\u0026nbsp;simulations, satellite, on-the-ground and other data.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis wildfire shows a different behaviour than those of the past, he says.\u0026nbsp;\u0027It eats everything.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile these fires are rare, when one strikes it can generate 100,000 kilowatts of energy per metre. In firefighting terms, this is 10 times what a firefighter can handle, but even at 4,000 kilowatts, firefighters cannot go near the flames and require aerial support.\u0026nbsp;\u2018The old way of fighting fires by sending firefighters \u2013 that\u2019s gone,\u2019 Castellnou said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENew normal\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere have been signs of trouble since the 1990s, according to Castellnou.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This change has been cooking for a long time, but the first time we realised something wrong was happening were the years 2009 and 2012,\u2019\u0026nbsp;he\u0026nbsp;said, referring to the Black Saturday bushfires in\u0026nbsp;the Australian state of Victoria\u0026nbsp;that killed 173 people and wildfires in Spain, Portugal, Chile and California, US.\u0026nbsp;Many in the fire community initially thought these were just abnormal events, he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut then wildfires in Chile and Portugal in 2017 indicated that those weren\u2019t simply extreme years. \u2018That was the new normal arriving. 2018 has confirmed that,\u2019 he said, referring to the deadly wildfires in Greece and in California.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u0026#039;The old way of fighting fires by sending firefighters \u2013 that\u2019s gone.\u0026#039;\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EMarc\u00a0Castellnou, Pau Costa Foundation, Spain\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn October 15, 2017, Castellnou was in central Portugal to conduct analysis then support the local services as the wildfires became firestorms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027What I saw was the pace of the fires\u0026nbsp;... You think: \u201cWell that cannot be real.\u201d When you go there (and see the damage) you understand that that is the\u0026nbsp;reality,\u2019 he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECastellnou, who spoke about the future of fighting wildfires at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sre2018.eu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EEU\u2019s security research event\u003C\/a\u003E in December 2018, first joined the Catalan fire and rescue services\u0026nbsp;as a seasonal firefighter when he was a teenager. In the past, he says, a fire that\u0026nbsp;destroyed 25,000 hectares a day was\u0026nbsp;considered\u0026nbsp;extreme. According to his figures, the October fires in Portugal consumed 220,000 hectares of forest, an\u0026nbsp;area 22 times\u0026nbsp;the size of Lisbon and killed more than 40 people. Castellnou says that at their peak, wildfires burned at a rate of 10,000 hectares per hour over seven hours.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This is something that blew my mind and I cannot use technology to simulate that because models can\u2019t predict it,\u2019 he said.\u0026nbsp;The challenge is now predicting how they will behave, he says.\u0026nbsp;\u2018We\u2019re still not there. We\u2019re struggling.\u2019\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFlammable\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWildfire experts say that climate change, causing a long-term rise in temperature and less rainfall, is creating unprecedented flammable conditions that are making forests burn with more intensity. Wildfires now occur in the wintertime and affect regions in latitudes beyond the fire season-prone countries of\u0026nbsp;Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal and France. Castellnou says that wildfires are expected to affect highly populated areas like\u0026nbsp;central Europe.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Last summer, it was the first time in history we were having\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/effis.jrc.ec.europa.eu\/static\/effis_current_situation\/public\/index.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Ewildfires\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;(nearly)\u0026nbsp;every single country in Europe,\u2019\u0026nbsp;he\u0026nbsp;said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It\u2019s not that climate change will create these new scenarios. No, no. The new scenario is already here, and it has come a lot faster than expected.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to experts, urbanisation and poor forest management for reducing fuel \u2013 the grasses and shrubs that fires feed on \u2013 are also to blame.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDavid Caballero, who also spoke at the security research event, assesses the wildfire risks in populated areas, focusing on the\u0026nbsp;wildland-urban interface, where infrastructure and urban development intermingle with forests and other wildlands. He is contributing to\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;project called\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/210518\/factsheet\/en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EClarity\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;that is working to join up different IT systems to protect cities and infrastructures\u0026nbsp;from the effects of\u0026nbsp;climate change.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe says we\u2019re seeing more fast-growing, high-energy fires affecting populated areas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We have to be prepared. Whenever we have forest in Europe, we eventually will have forest fires,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe\u0026nbsp;travelled to\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;seaside\u0026nbsp;village of Mati, Greece,\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;the immediate aftermath\u0026nbsp;of Europe\u2019s\u0026nbsp;deadliest wildfires last year which killed \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-greece-weather-medicane\/three-people-missing-as-cyclone-brings-flash-floods-in-greece-idUSKCN1M90RN\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003E99 people\u003C\/a\u003E in the region of Attica.\u0026nbsp;Speaking to firefighters and survivors, he learnt that many people did not expect the fires to cross the highway that runs parallel to the coast. In the past the fires had halted at this point, but this time they leapt across, burning through Mati.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There was an enormous amount of fuel due to the lack of management for 40 years,\u2019 he said. The fires tore through the village and reached the coast in just 20 minutes. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECaballero says that all along the Mediterranean coast, unregulated construction with little regard for safety and evacuation routes and lax\u0026nbsp;vegetation\u0026nbsp;management mean that more places are at risk. He says local and regional authorities can no longer afford to be negligent. \u2018We are living surrounded by fuel,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECulture of risk\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPau Costa Foundation, established to speed up the sharing of information and know-how between fire services and society, works on a number of prevention campaigns. For a project called\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/210221\/factsheet\/en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EHeimdall\u003C\/a\u003E, set up to contribute to an EU-wide information system about fires and other emergencies, the foundation is ensuring that the general public has a voice in shaping it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the foundation\u2019s aims is to change the social perception of wildfires. A tendency to fight every fire, small or large, has let landscapes thrive artificially, Castellnou says. \u2018Not all fire is bad,\u2019 he said. By clearing old trees, fires can make way for the growth of new forests that are adapted to climate change.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESmaller fires,\u0026nbsp;through activities such as prescribed burning,\u0026nbsp;also have a role to play in creating\u0026nbsp;scars in the land\u0026nbsp;which\u0026nbsp;break up a bigger fire\u2019s path.\u0026nbsp;\u2018A mosaic of landscape of different ages and low-intensity fires is the best protection against the big fires,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOriol Vilalta, director of\u0026nbsp;the foundation\u0026nbsp;and a volunteer firefighter,\u0026nbsp;says with wildfires killing more people in Europe, causing more than 200 deaths in the past three years, it\u2019s time we learnt how to coexist with them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We\u0026nbsp;need to create a culture of risk.\u0026nbsp;The Japanese know very well what to do\u0026nbsp;in case of an earthquake, but we don\u2019t know what to do in Europe with fires,\u2019 Vilalta said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the past, the\u0026nbsp;tendency was to evacuate people, but\u0026nbsp;the general public must become\u0026nbsp;part of the solution through self-protection, he says. \u2018(That\u2019s) what to do and what not to do, where to stay and where not to stay in case of a fire.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGallery: Fire flocks\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\n \n\n\n\n\u003Csection class=\u0022ecl-gallery\u0022 data-ecl-auto-init=\u0022Gallery\u0022 data-ecl-gallery-visible-items=\u00228\u0022 data-ecl-gallery\u003E\u003Cul class=\u0022ecl-gallery__list\u0022\u003E\u003Cli class=\u0022ecl-gallery__item\u0022\u003E\u003Ca\n href=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/FIRESHEEP6.jpg\u0022\n data-ecl-gallery-item\n class=\u0022ecl-gallery__item-link\u0022aria-label=\u0022\u2018You could say they fight the flames one nibble at a time,\u2019 said Pau Costa\u2019s director Oriol Vilalta. \u2018They are like goat fire brigades.\u0026#039;\u0022\u003E\u003Cfigure class=\u0022ecl-gallery__image-container\u0022\u003E\u003Cpicture class=\u0022ecl-picture ecl-gallery__picture\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg \n class=\u0022ecl-gallery__image\u0022\n src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/FIRESHEEP6.jpg\u0022\n alt=\u0022\u2018You could say they fight the flames one nibble at a time,\u2019 said Pau Costa\u2019s director Oriol Vilalta. \u2018They are like goat fire brigades.\u0026#039;\u0022 \n \/\u003E\u003C\/picture\u003E\u003Cfigcaption\n class=\u0022ecl-gallery__description\u0022\n data-ecl-gallery-description\n \u003E\u2018You could say they fight the flames one nibble at a time,\u2019 said Pau Costa\u2019s director Oriol Vilalta. \u2018They are like goat fire brigades.\u0026#039;\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-gallery__footer\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-gallery__info\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong class=\u0022ecl-gallery__info-total\u0022 data-ecl-gallery-count\u003E0\u003C\/strong\u003Emedia items\u003Cbutton class=\u0022ecl-button ecl-button--ghost ecl-gallery__view-all\u0022 type=\u0022submit\u0022 data-ecl-gallery-all data-ecl-gallery-collapsed-label=\u0022See\u0026#x20;all\u0022 data-ecl-gallery-expanded-label=\u0022Collapse\u0022\u003ESee all\u003C\/button\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdialog class=\u0022ecl-gallery__overlay\u0022 data-ecl-gallery-overlay\u003E\u003Cheader class=\u0022ecl-gallery__close\u0022 data-ecl-gallery-overlay-header\u003E\u003Cbutton class=\u0022ecl-button ecl-button--ghost ecl-gallery__close-button\u0022 type=\u0022submit\u0022 data-ecl-gallery-close\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022ecl-button__container\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022ecl-button__label\u0022 data-ecl-label=\u0022true\u0022\u003EClose\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Csvg\n class=\u0022ecl-icon ecl-icon--s ecl-button__icon ecl-button__icon--after\u0022\n focusable=\u0022false\u0022\n aria-hidden=\u0022true\u0022\n data-ecl-icon\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022\/themes\/contrib\/oe_theme\/dist\/ec\/images\/icons\/sprites\/icons.svg#close\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/button\u003E\u003C\/header\u003E\u003Csection class=\u0022ecl-gallery__slider\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-gallery__slider-media-container\u0022 data-ecl-gallery-overlay-media\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/section\u003E\u003Cfooter class=\u0022ecl-gallery__detail\u0022 data-ecl-gallery-overlay-footer\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-container\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-gallery__detail-actions\u0022\u003E\u003Ca\n href=\u0022\u0022\n class=\u0022ecl-link ecl-link--standalone ecl-link--icon ecl-link--icon-after ecl-gallery__share\u0022\n data-ecl-gallery-overlay-share\n\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022ecl-link__label\u0022\u003EShare\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Csvg\n class=\u0022ecl-icon ecl-icon--fluid ecl-link__icon\u0022\n focusable=\u0022false\u0022\n aria-hidden=\u0022true\u0022\n \u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022\/themes\/contrib\/oe_theme\/dist\/ec\/images\/icons\/sprites\/icons.svg#share\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\n class=\u0022ecl-gallery__detail-description\u0022\n data-ecl-gallery-overlay-description\n \u003E\u2018You could say they fight the flames one nibble at a time,\u2019 said Pau Costa\u2019s director Oriol Vilalta. \u2018They are like goat fire brigades.\u0026#039;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-gallery__pager\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-gallery__detail-counter\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan data-ecl-gallery-overlay-counter-current\u003E0\u003C\/span\u003E \/ \u003Cspan data-ecl-gallery-overlay-counter-max\u003E0\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/footer\u003E\u003C\/dialog\u003E\u003C\/section\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 8pt;\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EImage Credit - The Pau Costa Foundation\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research projects in this article\u0026nbsp;are funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3\u003EWhat can be done? The expert view\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ECreate an EU-wide programme to teach people how to live with wildfires and manage landscapes, similar to\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.firesmartcanada.ca\/what-is-firesmart\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EFireSmart\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;in Canada or\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nfpa.org\/Public-Education\/By-topic\/Wildfire\/Firewise-USA\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EFirewise\u003C\/a\u003E in the US.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEstablish long-term or permanent research structures to understand our future with fire.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHelp municipalities, firefighters and communities work together to raise awareness and knowledge about wildfire risks and how fires behave.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EReduce the vegetation that makes forests flammable, so fire and rescue services have the capacity to fight fires.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECreate an incentive to clear vegetation, such as constructing buildings from wood or using biomass to heat public buildings and hospitals.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the case of a fire, provide clear information for residents about when to evacuate and when to stay in their homes.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-uqtmjgqusxowlju7katsg2x7o-ysowgia523y0vjllu\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-uqTmjGQUSxowljU7kATsg2X7o-ysOWgia523y0VJllU\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]