Forest fire trend reversed

The Malaga province lets out a big sigh of relief this autumn, now that the most dangerous time of the year for forest fires has passed and 2024 has marked a new record with the fewest documented blazes.

Autumn officially begins on Sunday, September 22, and according to Plan Infoca, the Andalusian arm of the fire service for forests, there have been 69 interventions in Andalusia this summer, compared to 70 last year and 72, the average for the decade. However, in terms of hectares burned, this number is far less than in previous years. 181.32 hectares were scorched this year, 89% less than last year’s 1,674.32 hectares.

Investment in fire prevention paying off

Despite the extremely dry summer and subsequent drought throughout the region, one notable piece of good news has been that due to Plan Infoca’s rapid response to forest and scrubland fires, there has been no need for precautionary evacuations of property this year.

In Malaga province, this drop has been a considerable change in the right direction, with significantly less forest and scrubland destroyed by fire for 2 consecutive years.

Government investment has been paying off. At the beginning of 2024, approximately €350,000 was designated to fire prevention work in the Montes de Malaga range alone.