{"id":7803,"date":"2023-11-15T03:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T02:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/?post_type=project&#038;p=7803"},"modified":"2024-11-20T08:37:31","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T07:37:31","slug":"fuelling-a-mega-fire","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/proyectos\/mega-fires-beyond-extinction\/fuelling-a-mega-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Fuelling a Mega Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<section id=\"small_caption_text-block_022cbc49daae5b3a1a7ffd295fb7ffc5\" class=\"block_small_caption_text\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>* Editors&#8217; note:<\/strong> we recommend viewing the report on a large screen (computer) to enjoy a more immersive experience. For better navigation, images appear resized on mobile devices.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Mega fires don\u2019t evolve without warning. We sow their seeds, watch them grow and are then forced to stand back as they develop beyond the capacity of extinction.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>As the phenomena intensify across the Iberian Peninsula and around the world, leading experts in fire operations and research are urging us to acknowledge the early precursors of extreme wildfires, recognize our role and reevaluate our preconceptions. In order to do so, we must first understand the underlying factors fuelling the severity and scale of modern mega fires.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<section id=\"sonda_quote-block_36b8529870e4496844b02dc68d097825\" class=\"block_sonda_quote quote_bg_no-image\" style=\"background-image: url()\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-10 col-xl-10\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"quote  \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">What causes mega fires?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Can they be fought<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">On a warming planet, can they be prevented?<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"quote_footnote\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\n\n<section id=\"full_video-block_13fa00315a27077222d2398529d649bd_1020044917\" class=\"block_full_video muted\" poster=\"\">\n\t<video id=\"bgvid-block\" poster=\"\" playsinline preload muted loop>\n\t\t<source src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/02_mikel-konate_megaincendios_06_sonda-internacional.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\">\t<\/video>\n\t<div id=\"unmute-button\"><\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\t(function(id) {\n\t  var fullvid = document.querySelector(\"#\" + id + \" #bgvid-block\");\n\t  \/\/console.log(fullvid)\n\t  var pauseButton = document.querySelector(\"#\" + id + \" button\");\n\t  var soundButton = document.querySelector(\"#\" + id + \" #unmute-button\");\n\t\n\t  if (window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion)').matches) {\n\t\tfullvid.removeAttribute(\"autoplay\");\n\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\tpauseButton.innerHTML = \"Paused\";\n\t  }\n\t\n\n\t  function vidFade() {\n\t\tfullvid.classList.add(\"stopfade\");\n\t  }\n\t\n\t  fullvid.addEventListener('ended', function() {\n\t\t\/\/ only functional if \"loop\" is removed \n\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\t\/\/ to capture IE10\n\t\tvidFade();\n\t  }); \n\t\n\t  fullvid.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t  soundButton.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t\n\t  function toggleSound() {\n\t\tif(fullvid.muted == true) {\n\t\t  fullvid.parentElement.classList.remove('muted');\n\t\t  fullvid.parentElement.classList.add(\"unmuted\");\n\t\t  fullvid.muted = false;\n\t\t} else {\n\t\t  fullvid.parentElement.classList.remove('unmuted');\n\t\t  fullvid.parentElement.classList.add(\"muted\");\n\t\t  fullvid.muted = true;\n\t\t}\n\t  }\n\t\n\t  document.addEventListener('scroll', function(e) {\n\t\tvar rect = fullvid.getBoundingClientRect();\n\t\tvar wh = (window.innerHeight) ? window.innerHeight : document.documentElement.clientHeight;\n\t\tvar shouldPlay = false;\n\t\tif (rect.top < wh) {\n\t\t  if (rect.top > -wh\/2) {\n\t\t\tshouldPlay = true;\n\t\t  }\n\t\t}\n\t\t\n\t\tif (shouldPlay) {\n\t\t  fullvid.play();\n\t\t} else {\n\t\t  fullvid.pause();\n\t\t}\n\t  });\n\t\n\t  \/\/ var isIphone = \/iPhone\/.test(navigator.userAgent) && !window.MSStream;\n\t  \/\/ if (isIphone) {\n\t\t\/\/ soundButton.style.display = 'none';\n\t\t\/\/ fullvid.setAttribute(\"controls\", \"controls\");  \n\t  \/\/ }\n\t})(\"full_video-block_13fa00315a27077222d2398529d649bd_1020044917\");\n\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n\n<section id=\"small_caption_text-block_5456804b7824b60391391627c0cf0ed5\" class=\"block_small_caption_text\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<p>The fire that broke out on 17 May 2023, in Las Hurdes, province of C\u00e1ceres, Spain. Some 700 people had to be evacuated. It is estimated that the flames affected an area of around 10,000 hectares. \u00a9 Mikel Konate for Sonda Internacional<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Fierce and wildly erratic <a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/proyectos\/megaincendios-mas-alla-de-la-extincion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mega fires<\/a> have become a staple chapter in southern European summers. For the purpose of this report, lacking international consensus on the specifications, we will use the definition of mega fires as those that burn an area of more than 5,000 hectares or emit more than 10,000 kilowatts of energy per square meter. While they cause losses of life, raze thousands of hectares of land, force evacuations and the closures of businesses, the public discourse invariably turns to the point of ignition with arson, negligence, accidents and lightning strikes on trees being the usual culprits. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-center\"><blockquote><p>But what sparks a mega fire is not what determines its behavior, size, or its speed. Nor is it what holds the solution to preventing future catastrophic wildfires.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Beyond its trigger, three critical variables fuel a mega fire: uninterrupted expanses of forest, sewn together by dense, flammable overgrowth and the convergence of unstable atmospheric and climate conditions. These <a href=\"https:\/\/agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full\/10.1002\/2017EF000657#:~:text=Changing%20frequencies%20of%20extreme%20weather,required%20for%20catastrophic%20forest%20fires\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">catalysts<\/a> of continuity, density and weather mean the difference between a fire burning out, and one capable of generating enough momentum to surge across the line of control and into unknown territory.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"image_content-block_db3ac1fcbad7b19e102c06f72f54e848\" class=\"block_image_content background_image\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"full-img-bg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/01_mileto_megafires_06_english.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"image_content-block_db3ac1fcbad7b19e102c06f72f54e848\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"full_image\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/01_mileto_megafires_06_english.jpg\" alt=\"Sonda\"> \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a9 Jorge Mileto for Sonda Internacional<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Mega fires are not a new concept. They have been recorded as far back as 350 million years ago but due to dramatic shifts in our land use and with the accelerant of climate change, they are becoming more frequent, more destructive and affecting new geographic regions. In 2023 Greece suffered the worst fires in European record with more than 94,000 hectares of land burnt in a single event and at least 28 people killed. The deadly Hawaii firestorm in Maui killed 115 people and decimated a whole town. Dwarfing all other countries in 2023 was Canada which lost more than 15 million hectares of land due to mega fires, becoming the largest area burned in its<a href=\"https:\/\/atmosphere.copernicus.eu\/record-breaking-boreal-wildfire-season#:~:text=on%20the%20atmosphere.-,Record%2Dbreaking%20fires%20across%20Canada,total%20for%202023%20to%20date.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> recorded history<\/a> and more than double the <a href=\"https:\/\/ciffc.net\/statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1995 record<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>The effects of these devastating events are something fire-prone Spain and Portugal understand intimately. In the last 17 years, both countries have cumulatively lost more than 3.1 million <a href=\"https:\/\/effis.jrc.ec.europa.eu\/apps\/effis.statistics\/estimates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hectares<\/a> of land to wildfires. Some of the most significant events being Spain\u2019s 2022 Sierra de la Culebra fires which destroyed more than 50,255 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miteco.gob.es\/content\/dam\/miteco\/es\/biodiversidad\/temas\/incendios-forestales\/avance_1_enero_31_diciembre_2022_tcm30-560521.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hectares<\/a> and Portugal\u2019s record-breaking 2017 season which killed 117 people and destroyed 10% of the country\u2019s forests during the <a href=\"https:\/\/drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu\/portals\/0\/Knowledge\/ScienceforDRM2020\/Files\/supercasestudy_04.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pedr\u00f3g\u00e3o Grande<\/a> and October fires.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"image_content-block_26c34add4ac3d10fe7da976ca3d1cfb5\" class=\"block_image_content background_image\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"full-img-bg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/04_joao-porfirio_megaincendios_responsive.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"image_content-block_26c34add4ac3d10fe7da976ca3d1cfb5\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"full_image\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/04_joao-porfirio_megaincendios_responsive.jpg\" alt=\"Sonda\"> \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Burned-out cars on the N-236 highway, between Figueiro dos Vinhos and Castanheira de Pera, near Pedr\u00f3g\u00e3o Grande, Portugal, 18 June 2017. \u00a9 Jo\u00e3o Porf\u00edrio via Sonda Internacional<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<section id=\"anchor_block_501557560b7a7f10911921a8b0b33aac\" class=\"block_anchor_section background_image full_width full_width_mb yes_anchor_resp video  \" >\n\t\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n\t<div class=\"full-img-bg video-anchor\" id=\"back-anchor_block_501557560b7a7f10911921a8b0b33aac\">\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forests stretching into the distance near the village of Les Planes d&#8217;Hostoles in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a9 Mikel Konate for Sonda Internacional<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<video id=\"bgvid-block-anchor_block_501557560b7a7f10911921a8b0b33aac\" data-videoid=\"\" class=\"bgvid-block full_image full_width\" poster=\"\" playsinline preload loop muted >\n\t\t\t<source src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/03_mikel-konate_sonda-internacional_p2r2.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\">\t\t<\/video>\n\t\t<div id=\"unmute-button\"><\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<!-- <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\tvar idVid = \"bgvid-block-\"+\"\";\n\tvar anchorVid = document.getElementById(idVid);\n\n\tif (window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion)').matches) {\n\t\tanchorVid.removeAttribute(\"autoplay\");\n\t\tanchorVid.pause();\n\t}\n\t\n\tif(anchorVid != null) {\n\t\tif (anchorVid.hasAttribute(\"controls\")) {\n\t\t anchorVid.removeAttribute(\"controls\")   \n\t  }\n\t}\n\t\n<\/script> -->\n\n<script>\n\t(function(id) {\n\tlet selectorVideo = \"#back-\" + id + \" #bgvid-block-\" + id;\n\tlet fullvid = document.querySelector(selectorVideo);\n\tlet soundButton = document.querySelector(\"#back-\" + id + \" #unmute-button\");\n\t\n\tif (!fullvid || !soundButton) return;\n\t\n\tif (window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion)').matches) {\n\t\tfullvid.removeAttribute(\"autoplay\");\n\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t  }\n\t\n\n\t  function vidFade() {\n\t\tfullvid.classList.add(\"stopfade\");\n\t  }\n\t  if(fullvid) {\n\t\tfullvid.addEventListener('ended', function() {\n\t\t\t\/\/ only functional if \"loop\" is removed \n\t\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\t\t\/\/ to capture IE10\n\t\t\tvidFade();\n\t\t}); \n\t\t\n\t\tfullvid.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t\tsoundButton.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t\t\n\t\tfunction toggleSound() {\n\t\t\tlet blockParent = fullvid.parentElement;\n\t\t\tif(fullvid.muted == true) {\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.remove('muted');\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.add(\"unmuted\");\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.muted = false;\n\t\t\t} else {\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.remove('unmuted');\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.add(\"muted\");\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.muted = true;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t}\n\t  }\n\t  \n\tlet isPlaying = false; \n\t  \n\n\t  \n\tconst handleScroll = () => {\n\t\tlet windowHeight = window.innerHeight * 0.9;\n\t\tlet scrollPosition = window.scrollY;\n\t\tlet videoElements = document.querySelectorAll(\".block_anchor_section + .video-anchor video\");\n\t\tvideoElements.forEach(function(videoElement) {\n\t\t\tif (scrollPosition <= windowHeight) {\n\t\t\t\t videoElement.style.cursor = \"auto\";\n\t\t\t} else {\n\t\t\t\tvideoElement.style.removeProperty('cursor')\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t});\n\t}\n\t  \n\tdocument.addEventListener('scroll', scrollOnScreen());\n\t  const scrollOnScreen = () => {\n\t\t\tlet rect = fullvid.parentElement.getBoundingClientRect();\n\t\t\tlet wh = (window.innerHeight) ? window.innerHeight : document.documentElement.clientHeight;\n\n\t\t\tlet isFullyVisible = ((rect.top >= 0) && (rect.bottom <= wh));\n\n\t\t\tif (isFullyVisible){\n\t\t\t\tif(!isPlaying) {\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.play();\n\t\t\t\t\tisPlaying = true;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\tif (!isFullyVisible){\n\t\t\t\tif (isPlaying) {\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.muted = true; \/\/ Silencia el video por si se pausa\n\t\t\t\t\tisPlaying = false;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t}\n\t  handleScroll()\n\n\n\t\/\/window.addEventListener(\"scroll\", handleScroll);\n\n\t\n\t  \/\/ var isIphone = \/iPhone\/.test(navigator.userAgent) &#038;&#038; !window.MSStream;\n\t  \/\/ if (isIphone) {\n\t\t\/\/ soundButton.style.display = 'none';\n\t\t\/\/ fullvid.setAttribute(\"controls\", \"controls\");  \n\t  \/\/ }\n\t})(\"anchor_block_501557560b7a7f10911921a8b0b33aac\");\n\n<\/script>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center heading-block\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Continuity<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Experts agree one of the most significant causes of mega fires is the expanding continuity of our forests. In the context of mega fire danger, unmanaged and abundant tree areas are an enemy hiding in plain sight.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>As evident from the forest growth map, Spain\u2019s treeline has exploded in growth over the last 30 years while Portugal\u2019s has declined. After huge treeline increases in the second half of the 20th century, experts say Portugal\u2019s forest recovery was delayed by land-use changes together with several fire events after the 1990s which severely scarred the country.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>\u201cContrarily to other European countries and especially Spain, [in Portugal] we don't see this expansion of forests, what we see clearly is more the loss of agriculture in between forests and shrubland patches, which again reinforce the propensity to have increasingly larger fires\u201d, said Professor Paulo Fernandes, forestry engineer and senior researcher at Portugal\u2019s University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes and Alto Douro. But even with the losses and slow regeneration, the country now has more trees than it can manage.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<section id=\"sonda_quote-block_838bb095b30660cb48b6cedb4dcf4425\" class=\"block_sonda_quote quote_bg_no-image\" style=\"background-image: url()\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-10 col-xl-10\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"quote  \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">\u201cThe last time we had so many forests was by the beginning of the neolithic\u201d &#8211; <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Prof. Paulo Fernandes<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"quote_footnote\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n<section id=\"compare_images-block_eaf32079ba39299936bfe3d98c206d06\" class=\"block_compare_images format_content\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"comparative_img\" class=\"has_lines comparative-block\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<figure style=\"background-image:url('https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/peninsula_2018-1.jpg')\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/peninsula_2018-1.jpg\" class=\"hide_img\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"handle_01\" class=\"handle_01\" style=\"left: 40%;\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"divisor_01\" class=\"divisor_01\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/peninsula_1990-1.jpg); width: 40%;\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This map shows forests across the Iberian Peninsula <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and Balearic Islands<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 1990 and 2018. Use the slider to see the forest grow and change. Reference: <a href=\"https:\/\/land.copernicus.eu\/en\/products\/corine-land-cover\">CORINE<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a9 Javi Aparicio for Sonda Internacional<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"range\" step=\".25\" min=\"0\" max=\"100\" value=\"40\" id=\"slider_01\" class=\"slider_01\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>As of 2021, approximately 56% of Spain's land was covered by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miteco.gob.es\/content\/dam\/miteco\/es\/biodiversidad\/temas\/inventarios-nacionales\/inventario-espanol-patrimonio-natural-biodiv\/informe-anual\/informeiepnb2021_web_tcm30-548721.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">forest<\/a> ecosystems and every year that number grows. Now to reduce fire risk, experts say the country actually needs <em>fewer<\/em> trees and shrubs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Forest continuity is predominantly the fruition of neglected land. After managing and utilizing most of Spain\u2019s forests for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/23212618\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">thousands of years<\/a>, the abandonment of agricultural lands and rural towns throughout the mid-20th century facilitated an unfettered expansion of trees. As farming families sought greater employment opportunities with increasing industry in capital cities, trees and shrubs enveloped their fields, blurring parcels of cultivated land into homogenous forests. This relentless reclamation of nature has resulted in expansive forest spaces as well as two of the largest demographic deserts in Europe known as the <a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/proyectos\/mega-fires-beyond-extinction\/spanish-lapland\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spanish Lapland<\/a> and the Celtic Strip.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"image_content-block_92958ab04fb74172c2f3c767c6b64776\" class=\"block_image_content background_image\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"full-img-bg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/sonda-internacional.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"image_content-block_92958ab04fb74172c2f3c767c6b64776\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"full_image\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/sonda-internacional.jpg\" alt=\"Sonda\"> \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Village of Aldealcardo, depopulated since the 1970s, in the region of Tierras Altas, province of Soria, Spain, within the territory of the Serran\u00eda Celtib\u00e9rica: the largest demographic desert in southern Europe. \u00a9 Santi Palacios for Sonda Internacional<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Without interruptions in forest continuity in the form of heterogeneous mosaic landscapes, clearings and agriculture, fires can spread indiscriminately. One of the Peninsula\u2019s most critical cases of fuel continuity can be found in the lower Pyrenees. Forests cover 59% of the mesic mountain range according to the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory with the most uninterrupted expanses in the central eastern regions. Carbon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0034666718300551?via%3Dihub\">studies<\/a> have traced the mountain\u2019s coniferous pine forests back between 50,000-15,000 years. In the past century, however, this resilient forest\u2019s treeline has bulked up and crept to higher altitudes.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Like most forest environments across the Iberian Peninsula, the Pyrenean landscape has undergone multiple land management changes throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. \u201cAll forests are an expression of our social and natural history,\u201d said professor, geographer, and author, Dr Mart\u00ed Boada. The 73-year-old Catalan grew up in the Pre-Pyrenees and has dedicated his life to understanding forests across the Peninsula and the world. Along with his exhaustive research, he has also witnessed firsthand the changes Spain\u2019s forests have undergone in his lifetime.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>\u201cThe biggest change is the energy change, when hydrocarbons arrived en masse in the 50s or 60s, it was an energy change. People no longer cooked with charcoal or firewood,\u201d Dr Boada said. \u201cWhat was previously about 5 tonnes per adult per year in forest consumption, is now 5 butane cylinders, this is key.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>When the forests stopped being utilized, trees reclaimed the space.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"video_content-block_91e351acebfd6d6f3d13cea9334bf44a_\" class=\"block_video_content\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<video controls poster=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<source src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/03_mikel-konate_megafires_06_english.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/video>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>The most effective way of seeing the impact a rural exodus has on forest spread is from above. Below is a stretch of land surrounding the municipality of Espinelves in the Pre-Pyrenees photographed aerially between 1954-56 compared with the same area now.&nbsp;<br>\u201cIn the 60s we in Catalonia had 37% of the surface covered by forest area, and now we are at 72%,\u201d Professor Boada said. That surge in trees has meant a simultaneous increase in the forest's demand for water.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>\u201cIf you had about two thousand trees per hectare and now you have more than 20,000, it is as if you had 10 geraniums in your home and you added 100. And you can see this, that is, the river flows have dropped, the aquifers have dropped also,\u201d said Professor Boada. Water stress is one of the leading causes of forest mortality in the Pyrenees which currently sits at around 38%. And the higher the forest mortality, the higher the mega fire danger.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<section id=\"compare_images-block_8f03d18a19f172deb0ee641c652e83b4\" class=\"block_compare_images format_content\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"comparative_img\" class=\"has_lines comparative-block\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<figure style=\"background-image:url('https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/09.jpg')\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/09.jpg\" class=\"hide_img\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"handle_01\" class=\"handle_01\" style=\"left: 40%;\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"divisor_01\" class=\"divisor_01\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/08.jpg); width: 40%;\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"range\" step=\".25\" min=\"0\" max=\"100\" value=\"40\" id=\"slider_01\" class=\"slider_01\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>\u201cWith this heat, ignitability can come to you in the most unexpected way,\u201d said Professor Boada, \u201cNot only the Pre Pyrenees but all of the Ebro Valley is going to burn.\u201d<br><br>It\u2019s a dark prediction but one echoed by other experts too. While fires in the Pyrenees are currently rare, simulations developed by Catalunya\u2019s forest fire service found if a fire were to start under heightened meteorological conditions, it would have the potential to burn through an enormous amount of land based on the current fuel levels.<br><br>\u201cSo right now we have 3% more chances than we used to have in 2015 of having an event that can support a fire spreading for more than half a million hectares in the Pyrenees, even reaching one million hectares. So that was impossible ten years ago. It started to be possible but rare in 2015, and now there's a good chance for that to happen. All the elements are ready to cook the recipe, it is just a question of when,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Marc-Castellnou\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Marc Castellnou Ribau<\/a>, Inspector of Catalunya\u2019s internationally recognized Forestry Action Support Group (or GRAF) and a leading expert in fire extinction.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>An important role in this transformation can be played by the so-called pyrocumulonimbus: a large cloud originating from the intensity of a fire and similar to those generated by volcanic eruptions. The mass of warm air made of water vapor and ash, rises at high speeds and condenses when it meets a cooler environment. Pyrocumulonimbus clouds can cause thunderstorms and electrical activity. They are capable of generating bursts of rain and spreading small particles of ignited matter through the air, to create new fronts or secondary fires.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"image_content-block_6e08be66c0038b21ef21eeafbe1d46c0\" class=\"block_image_content background_image\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"full-img-bg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/pyrocumulonimbus_english.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"image_content-block_6e08be66c0038b21ef21eeafbe1d46c0\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"full_image\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/pyrocumulonimbus_english.jpg\" alt=\"Sonda\"> \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p>\u00a9 Jorge Mileto for Sonda Internacional<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>If a fire did start in the Pyrenees under high fire danger conditions the simulations predict it wouldn\u2019t take long to develop into a mega fire. \u201cIt needs one day to start and build <a href=\"https:\/\/interior.gencat.cat\/web\/.content\/home\/030_arees_dactuacio\/bombers\/foc_forestal\/jornades_recerca_cooperacio_internacional\/articles_de_recerca_en_foc_forestal\/articles_incendis_forestals\/2022_Castellnou-et-al_Pyroconvection-classification-atmospheric-vertical-correlation-extreme-fire-spread.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pyroconvection<\/a>, one long night where the pyroconvection is maintained and the second day when it finally blows up. That's the process,\u201d he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>\u201cThere is a lot of evidence of mountain areas around the world going through the same process and the Pyrenees are no different,\u201d said Castellnou. The region has become his team\u2019s most critical focus area. \u201cIt is where the big fire can happen and where the most efforts to convince society that we must manage the landscape is,\u201d he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"image_content-block_f41850754600a440a652227acbc000c2\" class=\"block_image_content background_image\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"full-img-bg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/10_lorena-sopena_megaincendios_08_sonda-internacional-.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"image_content-block_f41850754600a440a652227acbc000c2\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"full_image\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/10_lorena-sopena_megaincendios_08_sonda-internacional-.jpg\" alt=\"Sonda\"> \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A resident tries to extinguish the flames approaching the town of Sant Fruit\u00f3s del Bages, during the El Pont de Vilomara fire, in Catalonia, on 17 July 2022. \u00a9 Lorena Sopena via Sonda Internacional<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Professor Graciela Gil-Romera is an expert in fire paleoecology at the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology, a research center within the Spanish National Research Council. She agrees the current forest spread in the Pyrenees creates a very dangerous situation. \"Having such continuity of fuel in the scenario of global warming, that's a bomb,\u201d She said, \u201cSometimes you have the urban forest boundary mixing with the wilderness and that's when the critical thing happens. Because then you may have a fire start which might not be intentional and then it spreads with no end, and there's nothing, no means that can stop the fire.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Wedged in by this prospective fire fuel are the small rural towns and urbanizations dotted across the mountain range. Their residents will find themselves in the eye of the storm should a mega fire ignite, something that deeply concerns Marc Castellnou. He sees new homes continually built in the path of future fires.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"two_images-block_553e4f3c915aeca7e8e990f2df16500d\" class=\"block_two_images\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 mb-3\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"responsive_image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/12.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"two_images-block_553e4f3c915aeca7e8e990f2df16500d_1\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/12.jpg\" alt=\"Sonda internacional\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta left\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dry forest canopy near the town of Muntanyola, province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. \u00a9 Mikel Konate for Sonda Internacional<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 mb-3\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"responsive_image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/13.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"two_images-block_553e4f3c915aeca7e8e990f2df16500d_2\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/13.jpg\" alt=\"sonda internacional\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta right\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A house near the town of Muntanyola, province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. \u00a9 Santi Palacios for Sonda Internacional<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>\u201cThe population is living calmly on a Mediterranean coast or in a boreal forest because they think a devastating fire cannot happen because the extinction systems have been saying they can put out the fires. But we are not explaining the whole truth. We can no longer put out those fires,\u201d said Castellnou. \u201cWe are not prepared [for mega fires], although we have been warned.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Wrangling continuity is an endless battle against nature\u2019s unrelenting growth but it is also a result of fast and effective firefighting operations. This concept is known as the fire paradox because the success and efficiency of extinction operations over decades has directly contributed to an increase in the fuel continuity and therefore fire danger.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"image_content-block_b66a2432dcc78e54dde4b0d487b85370\" class=\"block_image_content background_image\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"full-img-bg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/dsc_0666.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"image_content-block_b66a2432dcc78e54dde4b0d487b85370\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"full_image\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/dsc_0666.jpg\" alt=\"Sonda\"> \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A firefighter uses technical fire to control the Senan fire in Conca de Barber\u00e1, Catalonia, 21 March 2021. \u00a9 Lorena Sopena via Sonda Internacional<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Periodic fires are a necessary part of nature, helping to manage biomass growth, cycle nutrients, and evolve species. Without it, the ecological balance is lost, there is no fire adaptation and therefore more chances of suffering large destructive fires. Unlike surface level <a href=\"https:\/\/hal.inrae.fr\/hal-03549228\/document\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">prescribed burns<\/a> or small grass fires, mega fires damage plant tissue and cause long-term scarring, delaying <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-445X\/10\/12\/1388\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">landscape recovery<\/a> due to their intensity. This paradox has led to calls for a shift in focus from solely reactive extinction operations to proactive fuel management.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>\u201cWe need to think that fire is part of our ecosystems in the Mediterranean forests. We have to live with fires and we can, through management, decide how they occur,\u201d said Sergio de Miguel, Associate Professor of the University of Lleida and researcher of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctfc.cat\/en\/personal_det.php?id=213\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">global forest ecosystems<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>If this change was realized it would also be a significant cost-saving measure. \u201cWhy? Because we respond, not to what is burning but to what could burn,\u201d said Marc Castellnou Ribau. He says current firefighting operations cost about 20,000 euros per hectare, while the average cost of managing a hectare of land is between 2,000-3,000 euros.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"anchor_block_f2ca476fb0b1335092bb1893578cc59c\" class=\"block_anchor_section background_image full_width full_width_mb yes_anchor_resp image  \" >\n\t\n\t<\/section>\n\n\t<div class=\"full-img-bg img_block_anchor_section\" id=\"back-anchor_block_f2ca476fb0b1335092bb1893578cc59c\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"full_image full_width\" data-original-width=\"2000\" data-original-height=\"1332\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/06_mikel-konate_sonda-internacional_p2r2.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\">\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta caption-full_width\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p>A forest track divides a pine forest in the north of the province of C\u00e1ceres, in Spain. \u00a9 Mikel Konate for Sonda Internacional<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<!-- <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\tvar idVid = \"bgvid-block-\"+\"\";\n\tvar anchorVid = document.getElementById(idVid);\n\n\tif (window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion)').matches) {\n\t\tanchorVid.removeAttribute(\"autoplay\");\n\t\tanchorVid.pause();\n\t}\n\t\n\tif(anchorVid != null) {\n\t\tif (anchorVid.hasAttribute(\"controls\")) {\n\t\t anchorVid.removeAttribute(\"controls\")   \n\t  }\n\t}\n\t\n<\/script> -->\n\n<script>\n\t(function(id) {\n\tlet selectorVideo = \"#back-\" + id + \" #bgvid-block-\" + id;\n\tlet fullvid = document.querySelector(selectorVideo);\n\tlet soundButton = document.querySelector(\"#back-\" + id + \" #unmute-button\");\n\t\n\tif (!fullvid || !soundButton) return;\n\t\n\tif (window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion)').matches) {\n\t\tfullvid.removeAttribute(\"autoplay\");\n\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t  }\n\t\n\n\t  function vidFade() {\n\t\tfullvid.classList.add(\"stopfade\");\n\t  }\n\t  if(fullvid) {\n\t\tfullvid.addEventListener('ended', function() {\n\t\t\t\/\/ only functional if \"loop\" is removed \n\t\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\t\t\/\/ to capture IE10\n\t\t\tvidFade();\n\t\t}); \n\t\t\n\t\tfullvid.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t\tsoundButton.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t\t\n\t\tfunction toggleSound() {\n\t\t\tlet blockParent = fullvid.parentElement;\n\t\t\tif(fullvid.muted == true) {\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.remove('muted');\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.add(\"unmuted\");\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.muted = false;\n\t\t\t} else {\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.remove('unmuted');\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.add(\"muted\");\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.muted = true;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t}\n\t  }\n\t  \n\tlet isPlaying = false; \n\t  \n\n\t  \n\tconst handleScroll = () => {\n\t\tlet windowHeight = window.innerHeight * 0.9;\n\t\tlet scrollPosition = window.scrollY;\n\t\tlet videoElements = document.querySelectorAll(\".block_anchor_section + .video-anchor video\");\n\t\tvideoElements.forEach(function(videoElement) {\n\t\t\tif (scrollPosition <= windowHeight) {\n\t\t\t\t videoElement.style.cursor = \"auto\";\n\t\t\t} else {\n\t\t\t\tvideoElement.style.removeProperty('cursor')\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t});\n\t}\n\t  \n\tdocument.addEventListener('scroll', scrollOnScreen());\n\t  const scrollOnScreen = () => {\n\t\t\tlet rect = fullvid.parentElement.getBoundingClientRect();\n\t\t\tlet wh = (window.innerHeight) ? window.innerHeight : document.documentElement.clientHeight;\n\n\t\t\tlet isFullyVisible = ((rect.top >= 0) && (rect.bottom <= wh));\n\n\t\t\tif (isFullyVisible){\n\t\t\t\tif(!isPlaying) {\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.play();\n\t\t\t\t\tisPlaying = true;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\tif (!isFullyVisible){\n\t\t\t\tif (isPlaying) {\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.muted = true; \/\/ Silencia el video por si se pausa\n\t\t\t\t\tisPlaying = false;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t}\n\t  handleScroll()\n\n\n\t\/\/window.addEventListener(\"scroll\", handleScroll);\n\n\t\n\t  \/\/ var isIphone = \/iPhone\/.test(navigator.userAgent) &#038;&#038; !window.MSStream;\n\t  \/\/ if (isIphone) {\n\t\t\/\/ soundButton.style.display = 'none';\n\t\t\/\/ fullvid.setAttribute(\"controls\", \"controls\");  \n\t  \/\/ }\n\t})(\"anchor_block_f2ca476fb0b1335092bb1893578cc59c\");\n\n<\/script>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center heading-block\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Density<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Knotted within the forest walls is the second variable fuelling mega fires: density. That is the vertical and horizontal build-up of vegetation undergrowth which acts as a ladder during a fire, capable of distributing fire to other trees and rapidly lifting flames from the forest floor up to the canopy. A forest\u2019s mass of ladder fuels will determine how hot a fire will burn and how fast it can travel. To get a rough idea of how dangerous the fuel load of an area is, forest engineers use a simple rule of thumb: If a square meter of land holds more than a kilogram of dry litter or shrub, that indicates it could burn at 10,000 kilowatts per meter, equivalent to the magnitude of a fire which can not be fought. If you wander off the path through a forest can you walk among the trees? In the below video you can see that walking through the dense and dry branches is almost impossible. If a fire were to start in this Las Hurdes forest it could easily evolve into a mega fire due to the amount of dry fuel available to burn.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wrap-yb\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Densidad forestal 360\u00ba\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/j365B-0pquk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>At its heart forest density is an absence or failure of fuel management. Throughout the Iberian Peninsula we find extensive areas with high vegetation density. Portugal\u2019s central region is the country\u2019s most dense and a key example of how good and bad forest management is capable of affecting fire behavior.<br><br>\u201cThat's the big problem with these large, very continuous, very dense forest patches that are so characteristic of central Portugal. It began by being planted, supposedly it would have to be managed in an orderly manner, but it has become a certain jungle, so to speak, of trees of various sizes and heights, but always in great density and therefore enhancing extremely intense fires,\u201d said Professor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Paulo-Fernandes-6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Paulo Fernandes<\/a> of the University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes and Alto Douro, one of the most cited experts on fire science ecology in Portugal.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"image_content-block_e71245c1c1497f147f795b0b8f287bec\" class=\"block_image_content background_image\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"full-img-bg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/17_paulo-nunes-dos-santos_megaincendios_06_responsive.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"image_content-block_e71245c1c1497f147f795b0b8f287bec\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"full_image\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/17_paulo-nunes-dos-santos_megaincendios_06_responsive.jpg\" alt=\"Sonda\"> \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dry acacia trees and shrubs dominate forests near Campelo, a small town affected by the 2017 Pedr\u00f3g\u00e3o Grande mega fire in<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Portugal&#8217;s<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> central region. \u00a9 Paulo Nunes dos Santos for Sonda Internacional <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p><br><br>He believes the region suffers under the weight of so much forest mass mostly due to a lack of clearing on the part of small private landowners. \u201cThe soils are not at all good for agriculture and the use of forestry from the mid-20th century became, let's say, the obvious option or the only option in terms of economic income for the population. The entire area was initially forested with pine and later with eucalyptus. The problem is that in these plantations, especially after fires, the intensity of the management is generally very reduced,\u201d he said.<br><br>Portugal has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fao.org\/3\/ca9825en\/ca9825en.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ranked<\/a> 7th in the top 10 countries with the highest proportion of forests under private ownership accounting for about 95-97% of the territory\u2019s total forest area (much like the neighboring Spanish province of <a href=\"https:\/\/efi.int\/sites\/default\/files\/files\/publication-bank\/2018\/tr_88.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Galicia<\/a>.) Most of these properties cover less than 0.5 hectares of land however many of their owners are still unable physically or economically to actively manage their fuels.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>\u201cIn Portugal, there\u2019s a saying that the owner of the forest only touches it when his daughter gets married and he cuts down the pines to pay for the wedding expenses. It's a caricature, but it is a bit like that,\u201d Prof. Fernandes said.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"two_images-block_4cffb1afa67076777e862649a659862f\" class=\"block_two_images\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 mb-3\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"responsive_image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/mi06b_paulo-nunes-dos-santos_sonda-internacional.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"two_images-block_4cffb1afa67076777e862649a659862f_1\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/mi06b_paulo-nunes-dos-santos_sonda-internacional.jpg\" alt=\"Sonda internacional\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta left\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p>Dead eucalyptus and bushes in an unmanaged plantation near Nodeirinho, in Pedr\u00f3g\u00e3o Grande, an area affected by the 2017 megafire that took place in central Portugal. \u00a9 Paulo Nunes dos Santos for Sonda Internacional<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 mb-3\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"responsive_image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/mi06a_paulo-nunes-dos-santos_sonda-internacional.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"two_images-block_4cffb1afa67076777e862649a659862f_2\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/mi06a_paulo-nunes-dos-santos_sonda-internacional.jpg\" alt=\"sonda internacional\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta right\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p>Heavy machinery used to clear vegetation next to a road in the vicinity of Cercal, a small town near Figueir\u00f3 dos Vinhos, an area affected by the 2017 megafire that took place in central Portugal. \u00a9 Paulo Nunes dos Santos for Sonda Internacional<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>\u201cThere is no forest management and, in many situations, there is no professional management. When there is some, it is in forests managed by companies. These types of forests or plantations are inherently vulnerable to fire due to the accumulation of biomass by the species that are used, which are normally fast growing like pines or really fast like eucalyptus.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>The invasive Australian tree species are popularly used for plantations across the Iberian Peninsula leading them to shoulder, what experts say is, a disproportionate share of the blame when it comes to fire danger. \u201cThe blame is always attributed to eucalyptus, but we know that this is widespread. It could be eucalyptus, it could be pine, it could be cork oak or it could simply be shrubby areas,\u201d said Professor Fernandes. The key is in the management or lack thereof and one of the largest issues contributing to forest fires in Portugal are abandoned plantations. With the amount of trees in the region, it is virtually impossible to keep on top of the growth.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Dina Duarte has spent her whole life in the small town of Castanheira de P\u00eara, in the Leiria district of Central Portugal. The town is home to just 2,645 people living boxed-in by thick, unmanaged acacia, pine and eucalyptus trees, many of which meet in canopies over small roads and grow right up to the front doors of homes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"image_and_text-block_e00704da1f02a2066c7460d015ef246b\" class=\"block_image_and_text \">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-10\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container two-columns\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having survived the Pedr\u00f3g\u00e3o Grande fire of 2017, which killed 66 people, she like many others has had a reeducation on wildfires and how forest density can fuel their unpredictable behavior. \u201cIt was different from anything we knew as a fire. It was too fast, too intense, too hot, too everything. It was something that marks us forever,\u201d the 53-year-old said.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"responsive_image image_module\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/15_paulo-nunes-dos-santos_megaincendios_06_sonda-internacional.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>\u201cWhen I was little, I realized I had to be prepared to deal with this for the rest of my life. I'm aware when the heat arrives there\u2019s always the possibility fires will happen,\u201d Duarte said.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>After the fire, Dina began working with the <a href=\"https:\/\/avipg.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Association of Victims of the Fire of Pedr\u00f3g\u00e3o Grande<\/a>, of which she is now president. Her work focuses on advocacy and education, particularly for the aging and declining rural population. \u201cI believe the June 17th fire came to create awareness and wake us up to this new reality. We have to do something different. We have to apply laws so that the populations living in their villages, and there are fewer and fewer of us, can live safely close to nature.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"two_images-block_c542c0f9675d4f1eff5958034008e367\" class=\"block_two_images\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 mb-3\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"responsive_image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/16_.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"two_images-block_c542c0f9675d4f1eff5958034008e367_1\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/16_.jpg\" alt=\"Sonda internacional\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta left\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p>Cover of the Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias, June 18, 2017.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 mb-3\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"responsive_image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/17_megaincendios_06.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"two_images-block_c542c0f9675d4f1eff5958034008e367_2\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/17_megaincendios_06.jpg\" alt=\"sonda internacional\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta right\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p>Cover of the Portuguese newspaper P\u00fablico, June 19, 2017.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Working to help others adjust to the new reality is the University of Porto\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Fantina-Tedim\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Professor Fantina Tedim,<\/a> co-author of <em>Extreme Wildfire Events and Disasters: Root Causes and New Management Strategies. <\/em>When it comes to controlling Portugal\u2019s forest density, Professor Tedim is a realist.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>\u201cPortugal doesn't have the human or financial resources to carry out all the fuel management, so it's important to pay attention to the places where it is strategic to do this management to avoid the occurrence or influence [on] the behavior of the fire.\u201d Though she has witnessed some changes in Portugal\u2019s fuel management policies since the 2017 mega fires, such as new clearing obligations around homes and towns, she says a one size fits all approach will not work. \"The reality is much more complex. If we are faced with a eucalyptus forest, a pine forest or an oak forest, the fuel management must be done differently.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"image_and_text-block_f43faf46bea51bfe8bbca976ecaa23f0\" class=\"block_image_and_text \">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-10\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container two-columns\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If asked whether there has been enough prevention to avoid another mega fire in the same area her answer is no. \u201cThe situation that was experienced in Pedr\u00f3g\u00e3o, and in the fires of October 2017, will certainly occur again in the future. Now, when? Next year? In 2, 10 or 15 years? No one really knows.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"responsive_image image_module\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/18_b_paulo-nunes-dos-santos_megaincendios_06_sonda-internacional.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>In Spain similar examples of worrying forest density can also be found. In the province of Extremadura many farms and olive groves have been left abandoned due to a drop in profitability and the toll of labor. Jes\u00fas Campo Garc\u00eda is among those who have walked away from their plots. The 72 year-old has spent his life in and around Monfrag\u00fce National Park in the municipality of Serradilla working as both a forest agent and an olive farmer.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>\u201cThere is nothing managed here in La Solana other than a few farms right next to the road, they are the only ones. Everything else is completely lost, everything,\u201d he said. During his 25 years working as a local forest agent, he witnessed the landscape change, the shrubs build up and the fires intensify.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"video_content-block_7deca0c8565a81a77b56656695483e5a_\" class=\"block_video_content\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<video controls poster=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<source src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/02_mikel-konate_megafires_06_english.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/video>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Aiding in the crowding of forests has been the gradual tightening of important conservation regulations on natural spaces, especially in Spain. The environmental protections needed to preserve biodiversity and habitats have been strengthening since the second half of the 20th century. In Portugal, <a href=\"https:\/\/biodiversity.europa.eu\/countries\/portugal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">22.4%<\/a> of the land is defined as \u2018protected areas\u2019 and in Spain <a href=\"https:\/\/biodiversity.europa.eu\/countries\/spain\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">28%<\/a>. Many form part of a chain of European forests known as the Natura 2000 Network and their protections mean that to preserve the native plants and wildlife, limitations are enforced on the ability to manage the fuel buildup, carve fire breaks, and perform prescribed burns. That\u2019s why in some parts of the Peninsula, largely in Spain, experts are concerned the restrictions risk endangering the subjects they were created to protect.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"image_content-block_cc5f243c3fb0d3707713a16923040ff0\" class=\"block_image_content background_image\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"full-img-bg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/enp_ingles.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"image_content-block_cc5f243c3fb0d3707713a16923040ff0\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"full_image\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/enp_ingles.jpg\" alt=\"Sonda\"> \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p>Reference: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miteco.gob.es\/es\/biodiversidad\/servicios\/banco-datos-naturaleza\/informacion-disponible\/enp_descargas.html\">Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Javi Aparicio and Jorge Mileto for Sonda Internacional<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>In the 2022 fire season, <a href=\"https:\/\/op.europa.eu\/en\/publication-detail\/-\/publication\/500b8dfa-de5e-11ed-a05c-01aa75ed71a1\/language-en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">42%<\/a> of the total razed land in Spain was within Natura 2000 sites, with the Sierra de la Culebra in Zamora, Alto Palancia in Bejis, and Serra do Courel in Galicia the worst affected. In Portugal, <a href=\"https:\/\/op.europa.eu\/en\/publication-detail\/-\/publication\/500b8dfa-de5e-11ed-a05c-01aa75ed71a1\/language-en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">37%<\/a> of the fires were in protected Natura 2000 sites, with the worst affected in the Serra da Estrela Nature Park and the Alv\u00e3o Natural Park. This follows a trend in recent years where protected areas appear to be having an increasing vulnerability to fires. In Portugal protected areas pose less of a problem, due to more relaxed clearing policies allowing an easier balance between nature and people.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>In Spain, fires within the Natura 2000 Network have been found to be on average twice as destructive as those originating outside, according to the Spanish Government\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miteco.gob.es\/content\/dam\/miteco\/es\/biodiversidad\/publicaciones\/miteco-librolosincendiosenrednatura-pdfdigital2022_tcm30-550138.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Los incendios en la Red Natura<\/em> 2000<\/a> report. \u201cThere are two take-home messages here. One is that protected areas are not protected against fire, they do burn, so fire prevention must happen there and in some areas, we see protected areas burning more than they should based on the area they occupy,\u201d said scientist and forest engineer, Professor Victor Resco de Dios, of the University of Lleida who co-authored a study into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0048969722074204\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">drivers of 2022\u2019s fires<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>In Spain some families who live in or near protected areas say the overly prescriptive rules surrounding the clearing of fuel are leading to fears a lack of management will promote larger wildfires. Carlos Grande Mu\u00f1oz helps his brother run a sheep and cattle farm in Miravete, bordering the protected area of Monfrag\u00fce National Park. Their family felt the effects of the July 2022 fire which swept through their property killing 35 of their sheep and a horse.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"two_images-block_35e8beb5070638b9ca74c1236cb97087\" class=\"block_two_images\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 mb-3\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"responsive_image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/mikel-konate_13.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"two_images-block_35e8beb5070638b9ca74c1236cb97087_1\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/mikel-konate_13.jpg\" alt=\"Sonda internacional\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta left\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p>Jes\u00fas Campo Garc\u00eda, a resident of Serradilla, in the Spanish province of C\u00e1ceres, shows olives from his olive grove to the camera. \u00a9 Mikel Konate for Sonda Internacional<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 mb-3\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"responsive_image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/mikel-konate_11.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"two_images-block_35e8beb5070638b9ca74c1236cb97087_2\" data-title=\"\" class=\"img-lightbox-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/mikel-konate_11.jpg\" alt=\"sonda internacional\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta right\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p>Flock of sheep in the Spanish province of C\u00e1ceres. \u00a9 Mikel Konate for Sonda Internacional<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p><br>\u201cWell, the situation here in Extremadura on that date, as every summer, was very complicated due to the heat, the high temperatures, the very dangerous windy days, and those of us who live here know a little of what can happen, but not the magnitude it had,\u201d said the 37-year-old.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Carlos is one of many local landowners who feel there are no incentives to keep land managed. He says there are disincentives given the risk of large fines for disturbing wildlife habitat and the amount of paperwork needed for works to be approved. \u201cThey put so many obstacles in your way that in the end you lose your desire, you lose your enthusiasm and you don't do anything, I'd rather throw in the towel, so what happens is that these areas are really depopulating with livestock and people, because there\u2019s no help at all, on the contrary, there's nothing but problems.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"video_content_autoplay-block_88c4462f90015c220b5028a6866a4a8a_2073909529\" class=\"block_video_content_autoplay en\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<video id=\"bgvid-block\" poster=\"\"  playsinline preload muted loop>\n\t\t\t\t\t<source src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/21_mikel-konate_megaincencios_06_sonda-internacional.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\">\t\t\t\t<\/video>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"unmute-button\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\t(function(id) {\n\t  var fullvid = document.querySelector(\"#\" + id + \" #bgvid-block\");\n\t  \/\/ console.log({id, fullvid})\n\t  \/\/ var pauseButton = document.querySelector(\"#\" + id + \" button\");\n\t  var soundButton = document.querySelector(\"#\" + id + \" #unmute-button\");\n\t  \/\/console.log(soundButton);\n\t\n\t  if (window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion)').matches) {\n\t\tfullvid.removeAttribute(\"autoplay\");\n\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\t\/\/ pauseButton.innerHTML = \"Paused\";\n\t  }\n\t\n\n\t  function vidFade() {\n\t\tfullvid.classList.add(\"stopfade\");\n\t  }\n\t\n\t  fullvid.addEventListener('ended', function() {\n\t\t\/\/ only functional if \"loop\" is removed \n\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\t\/\/ to capture IE10\n\t\tvidFade();\n\t  }); \n\t  \n\t  fullvid.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t  soundButton.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t\n\t  function toggleSound() {\n\t\tlet blockParent = fullvid.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement;\n\t\tif(fullvid.muted == true) {\n\t\t\tblockParent.classList.remove('muted');\n\t\t\tblockParent.classList.add(\"unmuted\");\n\t\t\tfullvid.muted = false;\n\t\t} else {\n\t\t\tblockParent.classList.remove('unmuted');\n\t\t\tblockParent.classList.add(\"muted\");\n\t\t\tfullvid.muted = true;\n\t\t}\n\t  }\n\t\n\t  document.addEventListener('scroll', function(e) {\n\t\tvar rect = fullvid.getBoundingClientRect();\n\t\tvar wh = (window.innerHeight) ? window.innerHeight : document.documentElement.clientHeight;\n\t\tvar shouldPlay = false;\n\t\tif (rect.top < wh) {\n\t\t  if (rect.top > -wh\/2) {\n\t\t\tshouldPlay = true;\n\t\t  }\n\t\t}\n\t\t\n\t\tif (shouldPlay) {\n\t\t  fullvid.play();\n\t\t} else {\n\t\t  fullvid.pause();\n\t\t}\n\t  });\n\t\n\t  \/\/ var isIphone = \/iPhone\/.test(navigator.userAgent) && !window.MSStream;\n\t  \/\/ if (isIphone) {\n\t\t\/\/ soundButton.style.display = 'none';\n\t\t\/\/ fullvid.setAttribute(\"controls\", \"controls\");  \n\t  \/\/ }\n\t})(\"video_content_autoplay-block_88c4462f90015c220b5028a6866a4a8a_2073909529\");\n\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"small_caption_text-block_8ae7cc57349035a80bcd18b494e1ffa0\" class=\"block_small_caption_text\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<p>Carlos Grande feeds his flock of sheep in the province of C\u00e1ceres, Extremadura, Spain. \u00a9 Mikel Konate for Sonda Internacional<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n<section id=\"anchor_block_9ee72a89d93c5ee4424cdff719fc2d4d\" class=\"block_anchor_section background_image full_width full_width_mb yes_anchor_resp video  \" >\n\t\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n\t<div class=\"full-img-bg video-anchor\" id=\"back-anchor_block_9ee72a89d93c5ee4424cdff719fc2d4d\">\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p>Sau Reservoir, Barcelona, July 2023. \u00a9 Pablo Tosco for Sonda Internacional<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<video id=\"bgvid-block-anchor_block_9ee72a89d93c5ee4424cdff719fc2d4d\" data-videoid=\"\" class=\"bgvid-block full_image full_width\" poster=\"\" playsinline preload loop muted >\n\t\t\t<source src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/10_pablo-tosco_sonda-internacional_p2r2.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\">\t\t<\/video>\n\t\t<div id=\"unmute-button\"><\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<!-- <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\tvar idVid = \"bgvid-block-\"+\"\";\n\tvar anchorVid = document.getElementById(idVid);\n\n\tif (window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion)').matches) {\n\t\tanchorVid.removeAttribute(\"autoplay\");\n\t\tanchorVid.pause();\n\t}\n\t\n\tif(anchorVid != null) {\n\t\tif (anchorVid.hasAttribute(\"controls\")) {\n\t\t anchorVid.removeAttribute(\"controls\")   \n\t  }\n\t}\n\t\n<\/script> -->\n\n<script>\n\t(function(id) {\n\tlet selectorVideo = \"#back-\" + id + \" #bgvid-block-\" + id;\n\tlet fullvid = document.querySelector(selectorVideo);\n\tlet soundButton = document.querySelector(\"#back-\" + id + \" #unmute-button\");\n\t\n\tif (!fullvid || !soundButton) return;\n\t\n\tif (window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion)').matches) {\n\t\tfullvid.removeAttribute(\"autoplay\");\n\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t  }\n\t\n\n\t  function vidFade() {\n\t\tfullvid.classList.add(\"stopfade\");\n\t  }\n\t  if(fullvid) {\n\t\tfullvid.addEventListener('ended', function() {\n\t\t\t\/\/ only functional if \"loop\" is removed \n\t\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\t\t\/\/ to capture IE10\n\t\t\tvidFade();\n\t\t}); \n\t\t\n\t\tfullvid.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t\tsoundButton.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t\t\n\t\tfunction toggleSound() {\n\t\t\tlet blockParent = fullvid.parentElement;\n\t\t\tif(fullvid.muted == true) {\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.remove('muted');\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.add(\"unmuted\");\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.muted = false;\n\t\t\t} else {\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.remove('unmuted');\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.add(\"muted\");\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.muted = true;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t}\n\t  }\n\t  \n\tlet isPlaying = false; \n\t  \n\n\t  \n\tconst handleScroll = () => {\n\t\tlet windowHeight = window.innerHeight * 0.9;\n\t\tlet scrollPosition = window.scrollY;\n\t\tlet videoElements = document.querySelectorAll(\".block_anchor_section + .video-anchor video\");\n\t\tvideoElements.forEach(function(videoElement) {\n\t\t\tif (scrollPosition <= windowHeight) {\n\t\t\t\t videoElement.style.cursor = \"auto\";\n\t\t\t} else {\n\t\t\t\tvideoElement.style.removeProperty('cursor')\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t});\n\t}\n\t  \n\tdocument.addEventListener('scroll', scrollOnScreen());\n\t  const scrollOnScreen = () => {\n\t\t\tlet rect = fullvid.parentElement.getBoundingClientRect();\n\t\t\tlet wh = (window.innerHeight) ? window.innerHeight : document.documentElement.clientHeight;\n\n\t\t\tlet isFullyVisible = ((rect.top >= 0) && (rect.bottom <= wh));\n\n\t\t\tif (isFullyVisible){\n\t\t\t\tif(!isPlaying) {\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.play();\n\t\t\t\t\tisPlaying = true;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\tif (!isFullyVisible){\n\t\t\t\tif (isPlaying) {\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.muted = true; \/\/ Silencia el video por si se pausa\n\t\t\t\t\tisPlaying = false;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t}\n\t  handleScroll()\n\n\n\t\/\/window.addEventListener(\"scroll\", handleScroll);\n\n\t\n\t  \/\/ var isIphone = \/iPhone\/.test(navigator.userAgent) &#038;&#038; !window.MSStream;\n\t  \/\/ if (isIphone) {\n\t\t\/\/ soundButton.style.display = 'none';\n\t\t\/\/ fullvid.setAttribute(\"controls\", \"controls\");  \n\t  \/\/ }\n\t})(\"anchor_block_9ee72a89d93c5ee4424cdff719fc2d4d\");\n\n<\/script>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center heading-block\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Weather<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Some of the most significant precursors to mega fires are impossible for us to see but essential for us to understand. Humidity, wind and increasing temperatures are among them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>The relationship between vegetation and its access to water both through the earth and the atmosphere is directly influencing flammability and therefore mega fire risk at all times. When temperatures are high and relative humidity is low, plants want to retain as much of their water as possible, so they have to choose between growing or surviving. In either case, they are left with a lower moisture content and as a result burn faster.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>This video illustrates the difference in burning speed and intensity between two samples of pine (<em>Pinus pinea<\/em>). The fuel moisture content of the branch on the left is dry at only 23% moisture content and the branch on the right has a lot of moisture inside, at 162%.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"video_content_autoplay-block_01638e939598da07cd8afabf2de458d7_1476011743\" class=\"block_video_content_autoplay en\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<video id=\"bgvid-block\" poster=\"\"  playsinline preload muted loop>\n\t\t\t\t\t<source src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/04_mikel-konate_megafires_06_english-4.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\">\t\t\t\t<\/video>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"unmute-button\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\t(function(id) {\n\t  var fullvid = document.querySelector(\"#\" + id + \" #bgvid-block\");\n\t  \/\/ console.log({id, fullvid})\n\t  \/\/ var pauseButton = document.querySelector(\"#\" + id + \" button\");\n\t  var soundButton = document.querySelector(\"#\" + id + \" #unmute-button\");\n\t  \/\/console.log(soundButton);\n\t\n\t  if (window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion)').matches) {\n\t\tfullvid.removeAttribute(\"autoplay\");\n\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\t\/\/ pauseButton.innerHTML = \"Paused\";\n\t  }\n\t\n\n\t  function vidFade() {\n\t\tfullvid.classList.add(\"stopfade\");\n\t  }\n\t\n\t  fullvid.addEventListener('ended', function() {\n\t\t\/\/ only functional if \"loop\" is removed \n\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\t\/\/ to capture IE10\n\t\tvidFade();\n\t  }); \n\t  \n\t  fullvid.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t  soundButton.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t\n\t  function toggleSound() {\n\t\tlet blockParent = fullvid.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement;\n\t\tif(fullvid.muted == true) {\n\t\t\tblockParent.classList.remove('muted');\n\t\t\tblockParent.classList.add(\"unmuted\");\n\t\t\tfullvid.muted = false;\n\t\t} else {\n\t\t\tblockParent.classList.remove('unmuted');\n\t\t\tblockParent.classList.add(\"muted\");\n\t\t\tfullvid.muted = true;\n\t\t}\n\t  }\n\t\n\t  document.addEventListener('scroll', function(e) {\n\t\tvar rect = fullvid.getBoundingClientRect();\n\t\tvar wh = (window.innerHeight) ? window.innerHeight : document.documentElement.clientHeight;\n\t\tvar shouldPlay = false;\n\t\tif (rect.top < wh) {\n\t\t  if (rect.top > -wh\/2) {\n\t\t\tshouldPlay = true;\n\t\t  }\n\t\t}\n\t\t\n\t\tif (shouldPlay) {\n\t\t  fullvid.play();\n\t\t} else {\n\t\t  fullvid.pause();\n\t\t}\n\t  });\n\t\n\t  \/\/ var isIphone = \/iPhone\/.test(navigator.userAgent) && !window.MSStream;\n\t  \/\/ if (isIphone) {\n\t\t\/\/ soundButton.style.display = 'none';\n\t\t\/\/ fullvid.setAttribute(\"controls\", \"controls\");  \n\t  \/\/ }\n\t})(\"video_content_autoplay-block_01638e939598da07cd8afabf2de458d7_1476011743\");\n\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"small_caption_text-block_859a7f974288426399a4ca2567402eb8\" class=\"block_small_caption_text\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<p>Experiment carried out for Sonda Internacional in the Forest Fire Laboratory of the INIA-CSIC in Madrid. Images provided by the Forest Fire Group of ICIFOR-INIA, CSIC.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Researcher Javier Madrigal, senior scientist at the Institute of Forestry Sciences (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inia.es\/Pages\/Home.aspx\">ICIFOR-INIA<\/a>, CSIC) and associate professor at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), conducted this experiment for SONDA. He says a plant\u2019s flammability is partly determined by its characteristics, such as thickness, however, it will mostly be influenced by the amount of water the plant has inside of it. \u201cThat doesn't mean to say that a wet tree does not burn, because if there is a lot of energy everything will be lost, but it gives us an idea of the ease with which one process can occur with respect to another.\u201d<br><br>In the long term, dry weather and a lack of rainfall translates to drought. The Iberian Peninsula periodically suffers long stretches without sufficient rainfall. For Spain in particular, the drought of 2019 - 2023 could have a lasting effect on mega fire danger.<br><br>\u201cAll climate models say that it will last for decades because it is not only a temporary drought, but a global circulation change, so we will see a total change of our landscape in the coming decades because we are changing the water regime,\u201d said Marc Castellnou Ribau.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"video_content-block_b5a122eaee73b3615c62fcfa0ac16249_\" class=\"block_video_content\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<video controls poster=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<source src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/05_javi-aparicio_megafires_06_english.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/video>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"small_caption_text-block_08035befbf52ca44f0f155aa2ad6398f\" class=\"block_small_caption_text\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<p>Data: Mu\u00f1oz Sabater, J. (2019): ERA5-Land monthly averaged data from 1950 to present. Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) Climate Data Store (CDS).<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Javi Aparicio for Sonda Internacional<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Seizing on parched and dead fuels are dry lightning storms. Fires started by lightning only account for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0168192312001323\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a small percentage<\/a> of total fires in Spain and Portugal but they are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-023-36500-5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">increasing in frequency<\/a> and burning <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publish.csiro.au\/wf\/pdf\/WF22123#:~:text=These%20locations%20experience%20above%2Daverage,2022).\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">larger areas of land<\/a>. That\u2019s believed to be because they can ignite during a moment of heightened atmospheric instability often in densely forested areas away from high surveillance and are capable of igniting multiple fires simultaneously.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>\u201cWhen a fire occurs in those [dry lightning] conditions what it really does in the atmosphere is throw the flame front literally upwards, it draws the flame front towards itself and accelerates the combustion process,\u201d said Madrigal.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"video_content_autoplay-block_031611b5e228e5cd627242319f6006e4_124728128\" class=\"block_video_content_autoplay en\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<video id=\"bgvid-block\" poster=\"\"  playsinline preload muted loop>\n\t\t\t\t\t<source src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/28_mikel-koante_megaincencios_06_sonda-internacional.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\">\t\t\t\t<\/video>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"unmute-button\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\t(function(id) {\n\t  var fullvid = document.querySelector(\"#\" + id + \" #bgvid-block\");\n\t  \/\/ console.log({id, fullvid})\n\t  \/\/ var pauseButton = document.querySelector(\"#\" + id + \" button\");\n\t  var soundButton = document.querySelector(\"#\" + id + \" #unmute-button\");\n\t  \/\/console.log(soundButton);\n\t\n\t  if (window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion)').matches) {\n\t\tfullvid.removeAttribute(\"autoplay\");\n\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\t\/\/ pauseButton.innerHTML = \"Paused\";\n\t  }\n\t\n\n\t  function vidFade() {\n\t\tfullvid.classList.add(\"stopfade\");\n\t  }\n\t\n\t  fullvid.addEventListener('ended', function() {\n\t\t\/\/ only functional if \"loop\" is removed \n\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\t\/\/ to capture IE10\n\t\tvidFade();\n\t  }); \n\t  \n\t  fullvid.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t  soundButton.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t\n\t  function toggleSound() {\n\t\tlet blockParent = fullvid.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement;\n\t\tif(fullvid.muted == true) {\n\t\t\tblockParent.classList.remove('muted');\n\t\t\tblockParent.classList.add(\"unmuted\");\n\t\t\tfullvid.muted = false;\n\t\t} else {\n\t\t\tblockParent.classList.remove('unmuted');\n\t\t\tblockParent.classList.add(\"muted\");\n\t\t\tfullvid.muted = true;\n\t\t}\n\t  }\n\t\n\t  document.addEventListener('scroll', function(e) {\n\t\tvar rect = fullvid.getBoundingClientRect();\n\t\tvar wh = (window.innerHeight) ? window.innerHeight : document.documentElement.clientHeight;\n\t\tvar shouldPlay = false;\n\t\tif (rect.top < wh) {\n\t\t  if (rect.top > -wh\/2) {\n\t\t\tshouldPlay = true;\n\t\t  }\n\t\t}\n\t\t\n\t\tif (shouldPlay) {\n\t\t  fullvid.play();\n\t\t} else {\n\t\t  fullvid.pause();\n\t\t}\n\t  });\n\t\n\t  \/\/ var isIphone = \/iPhone\/.test(navigator.userAgent) && !window.MSStream;\n\t  \/\/ if (isIphone) {\n\t\t\/\/ soundButton.style.display = 'none';\n\t\t\/\/ fullvid.setAttribute(\"controls\", \"controls\");  \n\t  \/\/ }\n\t})(\"video_content_autoplay-block_031611b5e228e5cd627242319f6006e4_124728128\");\n\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"small_caption_text-block_0d19a26378b747d345d2a0bcedbeeb24\" class=\"block_small_caption_text\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<p>Electrical storm over the town of Olot, province of Girona, Catalonia. \u00a9 Mikel Konate for Sonda Internacional<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Back on land, topography also plays a big role in determining mega fire direction and intensity. If an area is inaccessible to people or machines, not only will the fuel be unmanaged but when a fire starts it can\u2019t be controlled. The formation of the land itself also has the potential to shape the fire's progression, influencing direction through the aspect and degree of slope and the creation of wind channels.&nbsp;<br>Accelerating and exacerbating these factors is climate change. Not only is human-caused climate change helping to lengthen the fire season, it\u2019s also increasing the frequency and intensity of mega fires, adding an additional time pressure to a problem already overtaking us. Professor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scopus.com\/authid\/detail.uri?authorId=56559506600\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tiago Oliveira<\/a>, president of the Portuguese Agency for the Integrated Management of Rural Fires (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.agif.pt\/en\/about-agif\/mission\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AGIF<\/a>), describes the challenge as one without a hero. \u201cDo you know any hero the world recognized because he prevented an event that didn't occur? It's not popular, so we are facing a dilemma here. We know how to do it, [prevent fires] the money is flowing in the proper direction, but we are not doing it as fast as it is needed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>\u201cThere is a joke people who work in these types of phenomena use. It\u2019s that a guy is jumping from the 10th floor and he is skydiving to the ground and on the second floor, he says, \u201cSo far, so good.\u201d It\u2019s a dark joke but it describes a little bit of what we are envisioning.\"<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<section id=\"sonda_quote-block_f163be0ff21cd025233425b6860d5642\" class=\"block_sonda_quote quote_bg_no-image\" style=\"background-image: url()\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-start\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-10 col-xl-10\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"quote  \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">&#8220;If you don&#8217;t treat the vegetation, the only solution you have on that critical day, it&#8217;s evacuation. You cannot fight that fire unless you have fuel management.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"quote_footnote\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Dr. Tiago Oliveira<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section id=\"anchor_block_6ad741b97911f7d605dd09519666881a\" class=\"block_anchor_section background_image full_width full_width_mb yes_anchor_resp image  \" >\n\t\n\t<\/section>\n\n\t<div class=\"full-img-bg img_block_anchor_section\" id=\"back-anchor_block_6ad741b97911f7d605dd09519666881a\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"full_image full_width\" data-original-width=\"2000\" data-original-height=\"1333\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/23_santi-palacios_sonda-internacional_p2r2.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\">\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-cta caption-full_width\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forest razed by flames in March 2023, on the border of the Teruel and Castell\u00f3n provinces, near the municipality of San Agust\u00edn. The fire devastated around 4,700 hectares. \u00a9 Santi Palacios for Sonda Internacional<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<span id=\"info-icon\" class=\"info-icon\" href=\"\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<!-- <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\tvar idVid = \"bgvid-block-\"+\"\";\n\tvar anchorVid = document.getElementById(idVid);\n\n\tif (window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion)').matches) {\n\t\tanchorVid.removeAttribute(\"autoplay\");\n\t\tanchorVid.pause();\n\t}\n\t\n\tif(anchorVid != null) {\n\t\tif (anchorVid.hasAttribute(\"controls\")) {\n\t\t anchorVid.removeAttribute(\"controls\")   \n\t  }\n\t}\n\t\n<\/script> -->\n\n<script>\n\t(function(id) {\n\tlet selectorVideo = \"#back-\" + id + \" #bgvid-block-\" + id;\n\tlet fullvid = document.querySelector(selectorVideo);\n\tlet soundButton = document.querySelector(\"#back-\" + id + \" #unmute-button\");\n\t\n\tif (!fullvid || !soundButton) return;\n\t\n\tif (window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion)').matches) {\n\t\tfullvid.removeAttribute(\"autoplay\");\n\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t  }\n\t\n\n\t  function vidFade() {\n\t\tfullvid.classList.add(\"stopfade\");\n\t  }\n\t  if(fullvid) {\n\t\tfullvid.addEventListener('ended', function() {\n\t\t\t\/\/ only functional if \"loop\" is removed \n\t\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\t\t\/\/ to capture IE10\n\t\t\tvidFade();\n\t\t}); \n\t\t\n\t\tfullvid.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t\tsoundButton.addEventListener(\"click\", toggleSound);\n\t\t\n\t\tfunction toggleSound() {\n\t\t\tlet blockParent = fullvid.parentElement;\n\t\t\tif(fullvid.muted == true) {\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.remove('muted');\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.add(\"unmuted\");\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.muted = false;\n\t\t\t} else {\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.remove('unmuted');\n\t\t\t\t\tblockParent.classList.add(\"muted\");\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.muted = true;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t}\n\t  }\n\t  \n\tlet isPlaying = false; \n\t  \n\n\t  \n\tconst handleScroll = () => {\n\t\tlet windowHeight = window.innerHeight * 0.9;\n\t\tlet scrollPosition = window.scrollY;\n\t\tlet videoElements = document.querySelectorAll(\".block_anchor_section + .video-anchor video\");\n\t\tvideoElements.forEach(function(videoElement) {\n\t\t\tif (scrollPosition <= windowHeight) {\n\t\t\t\t videoElement.style.cursor = \"auto\";\n\t\t\t} else {\n\t\t\t\tvideoElement.style.removeProperty('cursor')\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t});\n\t}\n\t  \n\tdocument.addEventListener('scroll', scrollOnScreen());\n\t  const scrollOnScreen = () => {\n\t\t\tlet rect = fullvid.parentElement.getBoundingClientRect();\n\t\t\tlet wh = (window.innerHeight) ? window.innerHeight : document.documentElement.clientHeight;\n\n\t\t\tlet isFullyVisible = ((rect.top >= 0) && (rect.bottom <= wh));\n\n\t\t\tif (isFullyVisible){\n\t\t\t\tif(!isPlaying) {\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.play();\n\t\t\t\t\tisPlaying = true;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\tif (!isFullyVisible){\n\t\t\t\tif (isPlaying) {\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.pause();\n\t\t\t\t\tfullvid.muted = true; \/\/ Silencia el video por si se pausa\n\t\t\t\t\tisPlaying = false;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t}\n\t  handleScroll()\n\n\n\t\/\/window.addEventListener(\"scroll\", handleScroll);\n\n\t\n\t  \/\/ var isIphone = \/iPhone\/.test(navigator.userAgent) &#038;&#038; !window.MSStream;\n\t  \/\/ if (isIphone) {\n\t\t\/\/ soundButton.style.display = 'none';\n\t\t\/\/ fullvid.setAttribute(\"controls\", \"controls\");  \n\t  \/\/ }\n\t})(\"anchor_block_6ad741b97911f7d605dd09519666881a\");\n\n<\/script>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center heading-block\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Credits<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p><strong>Director: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MikelKonate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mikel Konate<\/a><strong> | Text: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lilymayers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lily Mayers<\/a><strong> | Video: <\/strong>Mikel Konate and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PavlobskiRoisen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pablo Tosco<\/a><strong> | Photography:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pdossantos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Paulo Nunes dos Santos<\/a>, Mikel Konate, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Occat93\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lorena Sopena<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/porfiriojoao1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jo\u00e3o Porf\u00edrio<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SantiPalacios\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Santi Palacios<\/a><strong> | Design and illustration: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/El_Mileto\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jorge Mileto<\/a> <strong>| Text editing: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Izcue\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Maribel Izcue<\/a><strong> | Data analysis and visualization: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/apariciogarciajavier\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Javi Aparicio<\/a><strong> | Web development: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/fullcircle.es\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Full Circle<\/a><strong> | Production: <\/strong>Sonda International<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"image_and_text-block_fe277a60e2fc1121ebe624841442b163\" class=\"block_image_and_text \">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-center align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-10\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container two-columns\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>This report was developed with the support of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.journalismfund.eu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Journalismfund Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"responsive_image image_module\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/jfe_l_pos-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center heading-block\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How did we execute this story?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>This report has taken ten months to compile. It has involved interviews with more than 20 people including local residents, forest engineers, professors, authors, firefighters, and fire analysts. We drove thousands of kilometers across Spain and Portugal and walked through countless forest landscapes to understand the issue firsthand.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>While this sort of in-depth journalism is vital to our societies now more than ever, it is not lucrative nor sustainable without support from our readers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>Sonda Internacional would especially like to thank <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rescodedios\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">V\u00edctor Resco de Dios<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/incendi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Marc Castellnou<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IsaVazGar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Isa V\u00e1zquez<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Fuego_lab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Javier Madrigal<\/a> for their advice and support in the making of this report. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center heading-block\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Mega Fires: Beyond Extinction<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>The <strong>Fuelling a Mega Fire <\/strong>report forms part of the larger <strong>Mega Fires: Beyond Extinction<\/strong> project, a major undertaking only possible thanks to the collaboration of experts and, above all, the community of members who support us in making visual journalism on the climate crisis.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>You can see other chapters within the report <em><a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/projects\/\">here<\/a><\/em> and watch our <em>Conversaciones <\/em>series bringing together firefighting, forest engineers, and climate experts <a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/projects\/\"><em>here<\/em><\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-10 pb-1\">\n<p>The project is well underway, but we need more help to complete it.&nbsp;<br>You can become a monthly or annual member (or make a one-time donation) <em><a href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/donate\/\">here<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"featured_media":7226,"parent":5782,"menu_order":8,"template":"templates\/reportajes.php","publicaciones-proyectos":[49],"sonda-tag":[170],"class_list":["post-7803","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","publicaciones-proyectos-story","sonda-tag-fire"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Fuelling a Mega Fire - SONDA Internacional<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/proyectos\/mega-fires-beyond-extinction\/fuelling-a-mega-fire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fuelling a Mega Fire - SONDA Internacional\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mega fires don\u2019t evolve without warning. We sow their seeds, watch them grow and are then forced to stand back as they develop beyond the capacity of extinction.&nbsp; As the phenomena intensify across the Iberian Peninsula and around the world, leading experts in fire operations and research are urging us to acknowledge the early precursors...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/proyectos\/mega-fires-beyond-extinction\/fuelling-a-mega-fire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SONDA Internacional\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SONDAinternacional\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-11-20T07:37:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/83_mikel-konate_sonda-internacional_ig.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1336\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SondaInt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"22 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/proyectos\/mega-fires-beyond-extinction\/fuelling-a-mega-fire\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/proyectos\/mega-fires-beyond-extinction\/fuelling-a-mega-fire\/\",\"name\":\"Fuelling a Mega Fire - SONDA Internacional\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/proyectos\/mega-fires-beyond-extinction\/fuelling-a-mega-fire\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/proyectos\/mega-fires-beyond-extinction\/fuelling-a-mega-fire\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/83_mikel-konate_sonda-internacional_ig.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-15T02:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-20T07:37:31+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/proyectos\/mega-fires-beyond-extinction\/fuelling-a-mega-fire\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/proyectos\/mega-fires-beyond-extinction\/fuelling-a-mega-fire\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/proyectos\/mega-fires-beyond-extinction\/fuelling-a-mega-fire\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/83_mikel-konate_sonda-internacional_ig.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/83_mikel-konate_sonda-internacional_ig.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1336,\"caption\":\"El incendio de #IFPinofranqueado avanza a primera hora de este 19 de mayo por el Valle del \u00c1rrago, en la provincia de C\u00e1ceres. 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