Reacción a "The fires in Ávila, Madrid and Castellón remain out of control, with thousands of people evacuated"

Why is it proving so difficult to bring under control, on the one hand, the fire in Madrid-Ávila and, on the other, the one in the province of Castellón?

“When such extreme fires occur – due to their scale, intensity, danger and, furthermore, the fact that they are happening simultaneously – it is, to a large extent, the fires themselves that dictate how the situation unfolds. No matter how many fire-fighting resources are mobilised, it is not always possible to tackle them directly or extinguish them whilst certain weather conditions and fire behaviour persist. It is important for the public to understand that fire-fighting resources have their limits. In these situations, teams try to contain the fire where possible, guide its progress, make the most of opportunities offered by the terrain or changes in the weather and, above all, protect the population.”

Do we have to get used to this type of fire that exceeds our fire-fighting capacity?

“Unfortunately, we have to accept that these incidents may become increasingly frequent and dangerous, as we have already been observing in recent years. We can and must focus on prevention to reduce the likelihood of major fires occurring and limit their severity, but we will not be able to prevent them all. Current climate conditions and the nature of many of our landscapes favour the outbreak of extreme fires. We must work together to mitigate this risk, but transforming the landscape and minimising the impact of climate change are long and complex processes. In the meantime, we must be prepared to respond when these fires do occur.”

What can be done when fires exceed our firefighting capacity?

"When a fire exceeds firefighting capacity, the absolute priority must be the safety of the public and the emergency services themselves. At such times, the objective cannot always be to immediately extinguish the entire fire front, but rather to protect inhabited areas, organise evacuations or lockdowns, reduce exposure to smoke, and take advantage of any safe opportunity to contain the fire’s advance. In this incident, around 100,000 people have had to be evacuated or placed under lockdown. Although there has already been one fatality (in Manises), the scale of the emergency highlights the importance of civil protection systems functioning effectively and of the public following official instructions.”

Are we prepared to deal with them?

“It is very difficult to be fully prepared for emergencies of this magnitude, but there are areas where progress has been made and many others where we still need to improve. It is essential to strengthen prevention, regional planning, coordination between authorities, early warning systems, civil protection and public education. We must also talk about shared responsibility: the authorities have a key responsibility, but society as a whole must be aware of the risks, keep themselves informed, prepare basic self-protection measures and, above all, always follow the instructions of the emergency services.”