Andalusia faces rising forest‑fire danger as abandoned lands fuel larger blazes

Experts warn that the abandonment of traditional farming and grazing in Andalusia has left vast tracts of forest and shrubland unmanaged, creating a massive fuel load that could spark unprecedented wildfires. The concern follows the deadly Los Gallardos fire in Almería, which burned about 6,600 ha and killed twelve people, highlighting the region’s vulnerability.

A recent monograph published by the forest‑sector group Cajamar stresses that, despite a decline in the number of fires across Spain since 2006, the total area burned has risen sharply, with more than 300,000 ha burned in August alone. The report attributes the trend to rural depopulation, climate‑related longer dry periods, and insufficient forest‑management infrastructure – only about 0.5 % of Andalusia’s four million ha of forested land is protected by firebreaks. It calls for a strategic shift toward active land‑management measures such as fuel‑reduction work, controlled grazing, prescribed burns and restoration of mosaic landscapes. As one author put it, “No intervenir no siempre equivale a proteger.”