Fire and forest fires in the mediterranean - A relationship story between forests and society

With the onset of summer and hot weather, it is also forest fire season. All over and practically on a daily basis, the news and media report on the occurrence of fires and the terrible devastating consequences they can have. With the huge amount of work done on prevention and suppression, why do we continue to experience these large forest fires over and over again? Why is it happening throughout the world? Can we prevent all fires, or do we need to learn to start living with fires? As citizens, owners of homes near or in forests, hikers, mushroom pickers or general users of natural spaces, does this issue affect us? Is there anything we can do to reduce exposure to risk and prevent fires? The present document will try to shed light on these and other questions related to forest fires, in an informative way, but also based on in-depth technical and scientific research and study. Broken down into five sections, this booklet will set out the truths and what we all should know about some of the main myths and realities of forest
fires. A brief introductory chapter and a final summary of key concepts complete the contents. We advise reading the entire document by following the logical order so that the reader can learn about and deepen the knowledge on the concepts set out for each situation. After reading the entire document, the reader will have a broad vision of the phenomenon of fires in the Mediterranean region.