2023-07-17 16:56:43
The arrival of high temperatures begins to cause a greater incidence of forest fires, with a A total of eight major foci in Spain. Most of them are located in the southwestern part of the Peninsula, although the one that has caused the greatest alarm is, by far, the one that is ravaging the Canary Island of La Palma..
Map of active forest fires
Map of active forest fires as of July 17, 2023 / Map: EcoAvant.com
Two accidents are hitting the northern part of the Peninsula, one in the north of Asturias, near Gijón, and another in the southern part of the province of Ourense. Although, the largest number of fires, up to five, are concentrated in the southwestern quadrant, the province of Badajoz being especially affected, with up to three major sources in its territory. The other two incidents that are located in the southern zone are located in the Guadalquivir basin, one in Seville and the other in the province of Córdoba.
But The most serious fire at present is the one that is affecting the island of La Palma. This incident would have burned some 4,000 hectares in the municipalities of Puntagorda and Tijarafe, causing the evacuation of some 4,000 people and reaching the gates of the Caldera de Taburiente National Park.
Hectares burned by forest fires
Forest fires in Spain in data up to July 9, 2023 / Illustration: EcoAvant.com
As of July 9, 59,568.76 hectares have burned, a figure below the catastrophic 2022 figure but almost double the average figure for the decade. During the month of June and the first week of July, some 12,000 hectares burned, serious numbers but, compared to the disproportionate extent of the claims last year, the comparison leaves about 14,000 burned hectares less than on the same dates in 2022.
Regarding the number of claims, there are not excessive variations in the annual comparisons. So far in 2023, there have been 5,007 fires, figures almost in line with the average for the decade (5,044) and some 500 less than those that occurred last year. In the month of June and early July there have been some 700 accidents, most of them near misses, and with hardly a large fire in this period.
This last month has meant a certain variation in the percentage of forest area destroyed by area. Although, the Northwest Regions continue to be by far the ones that have suffered the most from fires, with 66.77% of the total, the interior Communities star in a large percentage increase, reaching up to 24.63% of the razed surface. In more modest figures, the Mediterranean (8.58%) and the Canary Islands barely appear (0.02%).
Regarding the type of vegetation destroyed, the scrub and open forest continues to be the most affected, with 38,320 hectares, some 3,000 more than in the previous month. But during June the most sinister vegetation has been the wooded area, which has seen almost 7,000 hectares burn down to reach 16,701 hectares set on fire so far this year. Lastly, almost 2,000 hectares of pastures and pastures have been burned in the last month to reach 4,546 hectares burned so far in 2023.
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