Photographer: Adra Pallon
Title: Fire and Ashes
Location: Galicia, Spain.
Period: 07/2022 - 07/2022
Category: Spot News

One of the recurring concerns with the arrival of the summer season is the increase in forest fires, both in quantity and violence. This is yet another consequence of climate change. Calculations carried out by EFFIS (European Forest Fire Information System) indicate that the 2022 fire season is the worst this century: in less than seven months, the area burnt has surpassed the total for 2012, the worst year on record. In the EU, the area burnt has tripled compared to the average of the last fifteen years. Spain alone accounts for almost 40% (39.39%) of the total hectares burnt this year, with 236,575 of the 600,731 hectares burnt by 6 August 2022.

The summer of 2022 saw the worst forest fire in Galicia's history, in which more than 11,000 hectares burned for more than fifteen days in a row. It was a sixth generation fire, almost unquenchable by firefighters.

The current situation of forest fires has reached such a point that we are facing the so-called sixth generation fires, which have the capacity to modify weather conditions and to affect and feed back to other fires that are even hundreds of kilometers away. This type of fire ravages many regions of Europe every year, one of the most affected being Galicia.

The depopulation of rural areas, the increase in monoculture of species such as eucalyptus and pine, which are highly pyrophilous, make fires increasingly dangerous and burn large areas of land.



The century-old forest of Souto de Vilar was razed to the ground like the others The village was also burnt to the ground Only two houses were saved br br SPAIN Frox n - O Courel Lugo Friday 15 July 2022 br

The fire in O Courel leaves the southern part of the area devastated Only a few villages could be saved because of the native trees around them which slow down the fire The rest of the area where there are pine and eucalyptus monocultures burned violently en masse br br SPAIN Folgoso do Courel Lugo Sunday 17 July 2022 br br

Environmental agents are studying the advance of the fire to analyse how to deal with it br br SPAIN A Campa Courel Lugo Sunday 17 July 2022 br

Forest firefighters move around the site of the fire to access the front of the fire br br SPAIN Pobra de Broll n Courel Lugo Tuesday 7 January 2021

Several firemen working directly against the advancing fire After several days the fire is still out of control br br SPAIN Vilarbac O Courel Lugo Thursday 21 July 2022 br

Neighbors try to stop the advance of the fire at the foot of the houses in Frox n There are few neighbours left in this area and depopulation is one of the causes of today s large forest fires br br SPAIN Frox n - O Courel Lugo Friday 15 July 2022 br br

A firefighter observes the virulent advance of the limpets in the Courel mountain br br br SPAIN Pobra de Broll n Courel Lugo Tuesday 7 January 2021

Firefighters are awaiting the arrival of the helicopter to change location within the fire br br SPAIN Seceda Courel Lugo Saturday 16 July 2022 br

Emilio a resident of the town of VIlar that has been devastated by the flames of the fire takes a walk through the town br br SPAIN Vilar Lugo 18 July 2022 br br

Exhausted forest firefighters from the Rio brigade taking a break from the hard and precarious extinguishing work in the middle of the Ribas de Sil fire in o Courel br br SPAIN Pobra de Broll n Courel Lugo 18 july 2022 br

The fire in O Courel leaves the southern part of the area devastated Only a few villages could be saved because of the native trees around them which slow down the fire The rest of the area where there are pine and eucalyptus monocultures burned violently en masse br br SPAIN O Courel Lugo Saturday 23 July 2022 br

The century-old forest of Souto de Vilar was razed to the ground like the others The village was also burnt to the ground Only two houses were saved br br SPAIN O Courel Lugo Saturday 23 July 2022 br br