Why Northern Europe should prepare for severe wildfires

Northern Europe need to learn from our colleagues in the rest of Europe. The last years of fires, not only in Greece, Portugal, and Spain, but also in some places in the north of Europe, show how quickly wildfires can interrupt daily life in municipalities. Most of Northern Europe is home to vast, dense forests, many of which are poorly adapted to fire. We still have a thriving forest industry and must learn from these events to strengthen our prevention and preparedness.

Urbanisation in many countries and less maintenance of the forest increase deadwood and underbrush build-up, creating more flammable conditions. This also increases the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) and the risk for infrastructure and people. Besides this, climate change is altering fire behaviour. Longer periods of drought, early and dry spring, and hotter summers give us new and unpredictable weather patterns and create forest fires we are not used to dealing with. Climate models project that these trends will intensify, making severe wildfires more likely across the region. In recent years, we have seen changes in fire intensity and more convective spread of fire.  We must start preparing for that proactively.

Unlike Southern Europe, which has long dealt with wildfires, many Northern European countries have limited experience, equipment, and trained personnel for dealing with large forest fires. At least in my country, Norway, most fire departments don’t understand the changes in fire behaviour, and fight forest fires as we did 30 years ago.

We need to invest more in prevention and preparedness, which includes forest treatment (a good mosaic to prevent fire spread), awareness-raising, early warning systems, introducing new equipment and tactics, training and exercises, and cross-border cooperation.

Northern Europe can no longer consider itself immune to the wildfire threat. Climate change is redrawing the map of risk, and proactive measures are essential to protect forests, communities, and lives. The time to prepare is not when the fire starts— it’s now, before the next dry summer turns trees into fuel.

Many years ago, prescribed burns were a normal technique to treat the forest and make more grazing ground for animals. We need to reintroduce prescribed burns as both a preventive and a fighting tool. Fire can be used to strengthen our fire lines and prepare WUIs.

We also need to look up at the skies and acknowledge how strong the impact of weather conditions is, including the effect of the fire plume on the weather system and, in turn, of this on a fire. By investing in research and the exchange of knowledge, we will be able to prepare for the future.