Wildfires: 'We must make prevention a political and collective priority, commensurate with the new challenges posed by climate change'

Since August 5, an unprecedented wildfire has swept through the Corbières mountain range in the Aude region of southern France. In less than 48 hours, more than 17,000 hectares went up in smoke.

This fire illustrates a new generation of so-called “extreme” wildfires that now exceed human intervention capabilities. Their unusual intensity, extremely rapid spread and severe weather conditions make traditional extinguishing methods futile. What was once rare has begun to become the norm across the Mediterranean.

Experts define these fires as events whose thermal power exceeds 10,000 kilowatts per meter, with fire fronts advancing at over 3 kilometers per hour that are able to generate their own violent winds, preventing firefighters from operating on the front lines. In such circumstances, even massive ground and aerial resources can merely limit the damage.

Since the 1970s, France has implemented an effective wildfire response policy based on rapid intervention, powerful aerial resources and the unprecedented mobilization of volunteer firefighters, who make up nearly 80% of those deployed. The policy relies on a massive and early attack on new fires, sometimes launched within the very first minutes; this strategy has made it possible to limit the number of major disasters and has long been cited as a model across Europe.

Marginal prevention

Yet, behind this success lies a paradox well known to scientists. In Mediterranean ecosystems, fire once played a vital ecological role: It cleared undergrowth, regulated fuel density and encouraged natural regeneration. By eliminating these smaller fires, we interrupt a natural cycle that helped control the amount of flammable material. Due to climate change, this mass of fuel now accumulates, dries out more quickly and feeds blazes of an intensity that human systems can no longer contain.

In extreme situations such as the one currently affecting Aude, firefighters cannot be blamed for the scale of the damage. The resources mobilized are substantial. In the Corbières, more than 130 aerial water drops were carried out in a single day: Canadair, Dash and water-bombing helicopters operated in rotation, supporting more than 2,000 firefighters on the ground. Despite this, over 16,000 hectares were lost to the flames.

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