The summer of 2024 was another challenging wildfire season for Southern Europe, highlighting the ongoing impact of climate change, human activities, and the need for effective risk management. To explore these challenges, we are sharing insights from four civil protection experts from France, Portugal, Spain, and Greece. These specialists will reflect on their experiences, lessons learnt, and strategies developed during the most recent wildfire season.  

While each country faced unique circumstances, several common themes emerged. Climate change and environmental factors increasingly influenced wildfire behaviour, with rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and unpredictable weather creating more complex conditions. Greece faced an extended wildfire season due to intense heatwaves, and Portugal experienced a sharp rise in burned areas, despite fewer fire incidents overall. France’s prevention and response systems contributed to limit the amount of burnt areas. In Spain, public awareness and proactive communication were key to reducing fire impacts. 

The experts emphasised the need for a comprehensive approach to wildfire management, combining prevention, preparedness, and rapid response. Tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), enhanced cross-border cooperation, and stronger community engagement are key elements in addressing these challenges. Human activities, including land abandonment, agricultural practices, and accidental ignitions, remain significant contributors to wildfire outbreaks, reinforcing the need for widespread public education and stricter enforcement of preventive measures. 

How did the EU respond to the 2024 wildfire season? 

When an emergency hits, any country can request assistance via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. When fires of such magnitude occur, Member States and participating states in the Mechanism regularly show solidarity by sending assistance in the form of firefighting planes, helicopters, firefighting equipment, and teams. Additionally, the Mechanism can co-finance the transport of assistance to the affected area, as well as operational costs. 

Since 2019, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been reinforced with the rescEU fleet, a European reserve that includes firefighting planes and helicopters and is 100% financed by the EU. The EU also co-finances the stand-by availability of additional aerial firefighting capacities to address potential shortcomings in responding to fires.  

For the 2024 wildfire season, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Portugal and Sweden put together 24 firefighting planes and 4 helicopters at the disposal of other EU Member States in case of an emergency. In addition, 556 firefighters were pre-positioned in France, Greece, Portugal and Spain, from 12 different European countries. 

During the summer and autumn of 2024, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism was activated 14 times for wildfires. You can read more on the European response here. 

Join us as we explore these valuable perspectives from Laurent Alfonso (France), Fabio Costa (Portugal), Eduard Plana Bach (Spain), and Sofia Kollarou (Greece). Together, their experiences provide a detailed overview of the 2024 wildfire season.