I live in an urbanisation in the forest: how protect from fire?

Fire is a danger: for your physical integrity, that of your family or friends, and for your property

For this reason, in the face of flames, firefighting professionals and civil protection personnel must be obeyed without excuse: during the fire, let the firefighters work, and once it's fully extinguished, the civil protection units will be your reference.

First part: The impact of fire in Spain and sixth-generation fires

We have found the data on the exact surface area burned for the same period in 2021 and 2022, making them fully comparable.

• In 2021, from January 1 to September 5, 75,548 hectares had been burned (note 1).

• In 2022, from January 1 to the same date of September 5, 293,191 hectares were burned (note 2).

What was burned in 2021 is equivalent to destroying a territory a little larger than Menorca, while what has been devastated in 2022 represents an area slightly smaller than the Basque province of Álava/Araba.

Why has the burned area multiplied nearly four times compared to 2021 this year?

Because global warming has brought to Europe persistent and extremely high temperatures, heatwaves, drought, and sixth-generation fires (in the second photo, you can see a sixth-generation fire in full combustion).

This type of fire, new to Europe, has three characteristics:

a) It generates so much energy that it changes the climate around it.

b) It forms clouds called "pyrocumulus," which cause electrical storms above the smoke column of a fire (the third photo explains step by step how they form).

c) It is beyond human extinction capabilities.

Do you want to know more about sixth-generation fires? Check out this comprehensive article from the BBC.

Second part: Preventing a forest fire adjacent to our residence step by step

First, it is necessary to understand why they occur.

The following two theories explain their causes:

a) "The fire triangle": for a fire to occur, three conditions must be met simultaneously. Firstly, the presence of combustible material. Secondly, the presence of a combustible, which means a substance that accelerates the fire, for example, oxygen. Finally, a hot environment that provides the energy to ignite the fire.

b) "The fire tetrahedron": This theory adds a fourth element to the three previous determinants: the presence of a chain reaction of different gases.

Until now, in the administration's plans, the maximum deployment capacity of personnel was only available for one more month during the summer. The paradigm of firefighting must change completely: prevention must be carried out throughout the year.

Third part: How to protect housing in wooded areas step by step?

1. Create protection zones: it is mandatory in "urbanizations, population centers, buildings, and facilities located in forested areas or within a 500-meter strip surrounding them." To find out if you need to create a protection zone, consult the municipality where the urbanization is located.

2. Properly establish the protection zone: "it must have a minimum width of 25 meters. This distance is measured from the outer limit of the plots located at the perimeter of the urbanizations and population centers."

3. Maintain a minimum distance of 6 meters between trees.

4. Who is responsible for starting the work? "The community of property owners in the urbanization, if they do not perform the work, the municipality is responsible for doing it." What should be done with the wood and debris from the work? "The waste produced by the forestry work must be shredded."

With these four points, on the one hand, there will be less fuel in the forest, and on the other hand, our urbanization will be less exposed.

Fourth part: Additional questions

As an owner, can I be penalized for not performing the described work?

Yes, with fines ranging from €601 to €10,000.

What happens if the land next to my house legally belongs to another owner?

"For the lands included in the protection zone that do not belong to the urbanization, a forced easement is established to access them and perform the necessary forestry work." In this link, we explain the concept of easement in real estate law.

We hope to have helped raise awareness of the extreme importance of fire prevention while working around your residence.

Note 1: Source of the data on hectares burned for 2021: "Dirección General de Protección Civil" (General Directorate of Civil Protection).

Note 2: Source of the data on hectares burned for 2022: "Copernicus," the satellite system of the European Un