Forest Fires: Assessing the Latest Efforts and Challenges in Disaster Management

23/8/2024

In recent years; forest fires have posed significant environmental, economic, and social challenges globally, including in Türkiye. The year 2023 has been marked by particularly large and destructive fires across various regions. For instance, Canada faced the most extensive forest fires in its history. By November 2023, fires had consumed 18.5 million hectares, approximately 5.1% of the country’s forested areas. During the same period, fires in the United States affected around 1.2 million hectares. The devastation was not confined to North America; Europe also experienced severe fire-related destruction in 2023. Up to November, fires had ravaged 83,947 hectares in Spain, 22,075 hectares in France, 31,000 hectares in Portugal, 62,201 hectares in Italy, and 129,332 hectares in Greece. The fires in Greece resulted in both loss of life and extensive property damage.

In Greece; grappling with the largest forest fires of 2024, thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate as flames reached villages and towns near the capital, Athens, on Sunday, August 11. As the fires spread to the surrounding areas of Athens, one person died. Greece has called for international assistance to combat the fires. To assist with the incident, Türkiye has dispatched two firefighting planes, a helicopter, and a nine-person flight crew to Greece.

Unfortunately, rising temperatures and neglect continue to fuel forest fires in many provinces of Türkiye. In August, fires in Aydın, Bursa, Hatay, İzmir, Konya, Manisa, Mersin, Tokat, and Yozgat were brought under control and extinguished. In Çanakkale and İzmir, a fire that started in agricultural land and spread to the forest due to strong winds was controlled through aerial and ground efforts.

Forest fires, which increase annually, have severe impacts on many living things, particularly humans, and contribute to the loss of oxygen resources, posing a serious threat to our future.

In Türkiye, 88% of forest fires over the past decade, for which the causes were identified, were human-caused. Although maintaining the ecosystem is essential, the significant rise in forest fires in recent years is attributed to increasing population mobility near forested areas.

In 2023, 2,579 forest fires damaged 15,520 hectares of land in Türkiye. Nearly half of these fires (44%) were due to negligence. Given these figures, the importance of combating forest fires is evident.

While weather conditions such as population mobility; high temperatures, low rainfall, wind, or lightning influence the occurrence and spread of forest fires, the region’s topography and vegetation are also critical factors. Therefore, interdisciplinary studies are essential to understanding forest fire characteristics, mitigating their destructive effects, and managing and extinguishing the fires.

The predominance of human-induced fires indicates a lack of awareness on this issue. To ensure a more livable world for future generations, it is crucial for society to enhance fire awareness.

Primarily, fire safety training should be organized and conducted by authorized institutions and non-governmental organizations to improve public awareness.

Efectis’ team of fire safety consultants provides training to raise public awareness about forest fires, leveraging its expertise and laboratory infrastructure at both national and international standards.