Advance EFFIS report on forest fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa 2018.
Date: 2019-04-03
Institutions: Joint Research Centre
Subjects: Europe, Middle East, North Africa, environmental cooperation, environmental protection, environmental risk prevention, fire protection, forestry policy, forestry statistics, research report

Advance EFFIS Report on Forest 
Fires in Europe, Middle East and 
North Africa 2018 

2019 

EUR 29722 

1

This publication is a Technical Report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s science 
and knowledge service. It aims to provide evidence-based scientific support to the European policymaking 
process. The scientific output expressed does not imply a policy position of the European Commission. Neither 
the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use that 
might be made of this publication. 

“Advance EFFIS Report on Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa 2018” is a report published by the 
Joint  Research  Centre  in  collaboration  with  DG  ENV,  both  co-chairs  of  the  Expert  Group  on  Forest  Fires,  as  a 
preliminary analysis of the 2018 wildfire season. 

Contact information 

Address: Joint Research Centre, Via Enrico Fermi 2749, TP 261, 21027 Ispra (VA), Italy 
Email: JRC-EFFIS@ec.europa.eu 
Tel.: +39 0332 78 6138 

JRC Science Hub 
https://ec.europa.eu/jrc 

EUR 29722 EN 
PUBSY No. JRC116127 

PDF 

ISBN 978-92-76-01938-1 

ISSN 1831-9424 

doi:10.2760/262459 

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2019 

© European Union, 2019 

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How to cite this report: Jesús San-Miguel-Ayanz, Tracy Durrant, Roberto Boca, Giorgio Libertà, Alfredo Branco, 
Daniele de Rigo, Davide Ferrari, Pieralberto Maianti, Tomàs Artés Vivancos, Hans Pfeiffer, Daniel Nuitjen; 
Advance EFFIS Report on Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa 2018.  EUR 29722 EN, 
Publications Office, Luxembourg, 2019, ISBN 978-92-76-01938-1, doi:10.2760/262459 

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Title Advance EFFIS Report on Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa 2018 

Abstract 

This  report  contains  an  anticipated  annual  summary  of  the  fire  season  of  2018  with  an  analysis  of  fire  danger 
and  areas  mapped  in  the  European  Forest  Fire  Information  System  (EFFIS).  This  report  precedes  that  to  be 
published  in  August/September  2019,  which  will  include  detailed  reports  prepared  by  countries  in  the  Expert 
Group on Forest Fires. 

Cover image: NASA	Earth	Observatory	images	by	Lauren	Dauphin	and	Joshua	Stevens,	using	MODIS	data	from	LANCE/EOSDIS	Rapid	
Response	and	the	Level	1	and	Atmospheres	Active	Distribution	System	(LAADS).	

Contacts: 

Jesús San-Miguel-Ayanz1 

Tracy Durrant2 

Roberto Boca2 

Pieralberto Maianti2 

Giorgio Libertà1 

Tomàs Artés Vivancos1 

Alfredo Branco2 

Daniele de Rigo2 

Davide Ferrari3 

Hans Pfeiffer2  

Daniel Nuitjen4 

2 

Jesus.San-Miguel@ec.europa.eu 

Tracy.Durrant@ext.ec.europa.eu 

Roberto.Boca@ext.ec.europa.eu 

Pieralberto.Maianti@ext.ec.europa.eu 

Giorgio.Liberta@ec.europa.eu 

Tomas.Artes-Vivancos@ec.europa.eu 

Alfredo.Branco@ext.ec.europa.eu 

Daniele.de-Rigo@ext.ec.europa.eu 

Davide.Ferrari@ext.ec.europa.eu 

Hans.Pfeiffer@ext.ec.europa.eu 

Daniel.Nuitjen@ec.europa.eu 

1 European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), 
Ispra (VA), Italy 

2. External consultant for the European Commission 
 GFT Italia s.r.l, Milan (MI), Italy 

3. European Dynamics S.A., Morousi, Greece 

4. European Commission, Directorate General Environment, 
Directorate D: Natural Capital, Land–Use and Management 
Brussels, Belgium 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3 

Contents 

1	 The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) ........................................... 5	

1.1	

1.2	

EFFIS Danger Forecast: 2018 results ............................................................. 6	

The EFFIS Rapid Damage Assessment: 2018 results ...................................... 17	

Affected land cover types .................................................................................... 20	

European countries ............................................................................................. 20	

1.2.1	
1.2.2	
1.2.3	
1.2.4	
1.2.5	
1.2.1	
1.2.2	
1.2.3	
1.2.4	
1.2.5	
1.2.6	
1.2.7	
1.2.8	
1.2.9	
1.2.10	
1.2.11	
1.2.12	
1.2.13	
1.2.14	
1.2.15	
1.2.16	
1.2.17	
1.2.18	
1.2.19	
1.2.20	
1.2.21	
1.2.22	
1.2.23	
1.2.24	
1.2.25	
1.2.26	

Albania ............................................................................................ 21	
Belgium ........................................................................................... 21	
Bosnia and Herzegovina ..................................................................... 21	
Bulgaria ........................................................................................... 22	
Croatia ............................................................................................ 22	
Cyprus ............................................................................................ 22	
Denmark ......................................................................................... 22	
Estonia ............................................................................................ 22	
Finland ............................................................................................ 22	
France ............................................................................................. 23	
Germany ......................................................................................... 23	
Greece ............................................................................................ 24	
Hungary .......................................................................................... 25	
Ireland ............................................................................................ 25	
Italy ................................................................................................ 25	
Kosovo under UNSCR 1244 ................................................................ 25	
Latvia .............................................................................................. 26	
Malta ............................................................................................... 26	
Montenegro ...................................................................................... 26	
The Netherlands ............................................................................... 26	
North Macedonia ............................................................................... 26	
Norway ............................................................................................ 26	
Poland ............................................................................................. 26	
Portugal ........................................................................................... 27	
Romania .......................................................................................... 28	
Serbia ............................................................................................. 28	
Spain .............................................................................................. 29	
Sweden ........................................................................................... 30	
Switzerland ...................................................................................... 31	
Turkey ............................................................................................ 31	
United Kingdom ................................................................................ 31	

1.3	 Middle East and North Africa ...................................................................... 32	

1.3.1	
1.3.2	
1.3.3	
1.3.4	
1.3.5	
1.3.6	
1.3.7	
1.3.8	

Algeria ............................................................................................ 32	
Iraq ................................................................................................ 32	
Israel .............................................................................................. 32	
Lebanon .......................................................................................... 32	
Libya ............................................................................................... 32	
Morocco ............................................................................................. 1	
Syria ................................................................................................. 1	
Tunisia .............................................................................................. 1	

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4 

 
 
 
 
1  The European Forest Fire 

Information System 
(EFFIS) 

Information 
The  European  Forest  Fire 
System  (EFFIS)  has  been  established  jointly 
by  the  European  Commission  services  (DG 
ENV  and  JRC)  and  the  relevant  fire  services 
in  the  EU  Member  States  and  European 
countries 
and  Civil 
Protection  services).  Research  activities  for 
the  development  of  the  system  initiated  at 
JRC  in  1998  and  the  first  EFFIS  operations 
were in the year 2000.  

(Forest  Services 

In  2003,  EFFIS  was  embedded  in  the  new 
Regulation  (EC)  No  2152/2003  (Forest 
the  European  Council  and 
Focus)  of 
Parliament  on  monitoring  of  forests  and 
environmental  interactions  until  it  expired  in 
2006.  Since  then  EFFIS  operated  as  a 
voluntary  system  of  information  on  wildfires 
until  2015,  when  it  became  part  of  the  EU 
Copernicus  program,  under  the  Emergency 
Management Services.  

Centre 

Response 

Acting  as  the  focal  point  of  information  on 
forest  fires,  EFFIS  supports  the  national 
services  in  charge  wildfire  management. 
Currently,  the  EFFIS  network  is  made  of  40 
countries  in  Europe,  Middle  East  and  North 
Africa. EFFIS provides specific support to the 
Emergency 
(ERCC) 
(formerly  Monitoring  and  Information  Centre 
(MIC))  of  Civil  Protection  as  regards  near-
real  time  information  on  wildfires  during  the 
fire  campaigns  and  assists  other  DGs 
through the provision both pre-fire and post-
fire  information  on  wildfire  regimes  and 
that 
impacts. 
the  European 
supports 
Parliament  with 
to  wildfire 
management,  impact  in  natural  protected 
areas  and  harmonized  information  on  forest 
fires in the EU. 

It  provides 
the  needs  of 

information 

regards 

EFFIS  also  centralises  the  national  fire  data 
that  the  countries  collect  through  their 
national  forest  fire  programmes  in  the  so-
called  EFFIS  Fire  Database.  The  EFFIS  web 
services1 allow users to access near-real time 
and  historical  information  on  wildfires  in 
Europe, Middle East and North Africa.   

5 

fire  situation 

in  Europe  and 

EFFIS  provides  a  continuous  monitoring  of 
the 
the 
Mediterranean  area,  and  regularly  sends 
updates  to  EC  services  during  the  main  fire 
season.  The  information  about  the  on-going 
fire  season  is  continuously  updated  on  the 
EFFIS  web  site  (up  to  3  times,  daily),  which 
can be interactively queried2. EFFIS provides 
daily  meteorological  fire  danger  maps  and 
forecasts  of  fire  danger  up  to  10  days  in 
advance,  updated  maps  of  the  latest  active 
fires,  wildfire  perimeters  and  post-fire 
evaluation of damage.  

The  EFFIS  module  for  the  assessment  of 
meteorological forest fire danger is the EFFIS 
forecasts 
Danger  Forecast.  This  module 
forest  fire  danger  in  Europe,  part  of  North 
Africa  and  the  Middle  East,  on  the  basis  of 
the  Canadian  Fire  Weather  Index  (FWI), 
allowing a harmonized evaluation to be made 
of the forest fire danger situation throughout 
Europe and neighbouring countries.  

The damage caused by forest fires in Europe 
is  estimated 
and  neighbouring  countries 
using  the  EFFIS  Rapid  Damage  Assessment 
module.    Since  2000,  cartography  of  the 
burned areas is produced every year through 
the  processing  of  satellite  imagery.  In  the 
year  2003,  due  to  the  availability  of  daily 
satellite  imagery  from  the  MODIS  sensor  on 
board  the  TERRA  and  AQUA  satellites,  the 
RDA  provided  frequent  updates  of  the  total 
burnt  area  in  Europe.  In  2007,  the  RDA  was 
updated  twice  a  day  and  currently,  since 
2016, it is updated 3 times a day. Further to 
the  mapping  of  burnt  areas,  the  analysis  of 
land  cover  classes  are 
which  types  of 
affected  by  fires  is  performed.  This  module 
uses  MODIS  satellite  imagery  with  a  ground 
spatial resolution of about 250 metres, which 
permits the mapping of fires of around 30 ha 
or larger. The burned area mapped by EFFIS 
corresponds,  on  average,  to  around  75%  to 
80%  of  the  total  area  burnt  in  Europe  each 
year. 

1 http://effis.jrc.ec.europa.eu  

2 see http://effis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/current-situation  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                            
1.1  EFFIS  Danger  Forecast: 

2018 results  

The EFFIS Danger Forecast was developed to 
the  Commission’s  Directorate-
support 
General  for  the  Environment  and  the  forest 
fire-fighting  services  in  the  EU  Member 
States.  From  2002,  at  the  request  of  the 
Member  States,  operation  of  the  EFFIS 
Danger Forecast was extended to six months 
starting on 1 May and ending on 31 October, 
and in 2006 to nine months, from 1 February 
to 31 October. From 2008 the EFFIS Danger 
run  continuously 
Forecast  system  has 
throughout the year without interruption.  

The  geographic  extent  has  been  enlarged 
over  the  years  from  the  initial  extent  that 
covered  only  the  Mediterranean  region.  Now 
the  system  covers  the  whole  of  Europe  and 
MENA (Middle East & North Africa) countries.  

6 

In  this  chapter  the 
fire  danger  trends 
assessed  by  EFFIS  in  the  different  countries 
during  the  2018  fire  season  are  presented, 
comparing them with previous years. 

Through  the  Danger  Forecast  module  of 
EFFIS  the  situation  has  been  continuously 
monitored  and  the  risk  level  analysed  and 
mapped.  

following 

figures  show 

The 
fire  danger 
through  2018  as  determined  by  the  average 
FWI  values  assessed  during  the  fire  season 
in the individual countries.  

In  2018  the  many  of  the  northern  countries 
experienced  unusually  high  FWI  values  in 
spring  and  summer,  while  the  southern 
countries  had  values  in  line  with  their 
average for most of the year.  

The  meteorological  data  used  to  run  the 
model has also changed during the years. At 
the  beginning  the  system  started  using 
forecasted  data  provided  by  MeteoFrance 
with  a  spatial  resolution  of  around  50  km. 
time  other  providers  were 
Then  over 
included, 
(Deutscher 
Wetterdienst)  and  ECMWF  (European  Centre 
for  Medium-Range  Weather  Forecast)  and 
the resolution has improved. Now the system 
runs with three different data sets from three 
providers:  ECMWF  (the  primary),  Meteo 
France and DWD; with a spatial resolution in 
a range from around 10 km to 25 km. 

as  DWD 

such 

The graphs show the weekly averages of FWI 
over  entire  countries;  therefore  local  peaks 
might  have  been  flattened,  especially  in 
those  countries  such  as  France  or  Italy, 
where  there  are  strong  differences  in  fire 
latitudes; 
danger 
nevertheless  the  general  trend  is  depicted 
providing  relevant  information  about  the  fire 
danger level and trends of the year. 

level  with 

changing 

To  allow  a  better  comparison  with  past 
seasons,  the  curves  of  2015-2017  are 
presented  in  conjunction  with  2018  for  all 
countries. 

are 

analysed 

countries 

The 
those 
participating  in  the  EFFIS  network  for  which 
data  are  available,  and  are  presented  in 
alphabetic  order  within  the  two  groups 
(European  countries  and  MENA  countries)  in 
the graphs that follow. 

NOTE: In order to make the graphs more 
readable,  4  colour-coded  scales  have 
been  used  to  present  the  FWI:  0-30  for 
the  most  northern  countries  where  fire 
danger  rarely  reaches  high  levels;  0-40 
for  central  countries,  0-50 
the 
Mediterranean  and  Turkey,  and  0-60  for 
the MENA countries. 

for 

NB.  It  is  notable  that  the  scale  for 
northern  countries  has  had 
to  be 
increased  from          0-20  to  0-30  to 
accommodate  the  high  values  seen  in 
2018 in these areas. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11 

MENA Countries 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As  mentioned  previously,  weekly  country 
averages  tend  to  flatten  local  fire  danger 
peaks,  which  as  a  consequence  become  less 
evident, especially in those countries such as 
France  or  Italy,  where  there  are  strong 
differences in fire danger level with changing 
latitudes.  

12 

in 

in 

the 

FWI 

further  divided 

Therefore, to show more clearly the seasonal 
changes 
larger  EU 
Mediterranean countries, i.e. Portugal, Spain, 
France,  Italy  and  Greece,  their  territory  has 
been 
fire  danger 
reporting,  according  to  the  map  shown  in 
Figure  1.  The  division  criteria  are  mainly 
administrative  and  should  be  taken  as 
provisional,  since  other  fire  risk  reporting 
sub-regions,  with  a  specific 
focus  on 
environmental criteria, might be proposed in 
the future. 

for 

Figure 3. Fire danger trends in 2018 as determined by the 
Fire Weather Index (FWI) in the regions identified for 
Spain.  

Figure 4. Fire danger trends in 2018 as determined 
by the Fire Weather Index (FWI) in the regions 
identified for Greece. 

Figure 1. Sub-country regions identified for fire 
danger trend reporting in the five largest 
Mediterranean Member States. 

Figure 2. Fire danger trends in 2018 as determined 
by the Fire Weather Index (FWI) in the regions 
identified for Portugal. 

Figure 5. Fire danger trends in 2018 as determined by the Fire 
Weather Index (FWI) in the regions identified for Italy.  

Figure 6. Fire danger trends in 2018 as determined 
by the Fire Weather Index (FWI) in the regions 
identified for France.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
To  facilitate  the  comparison  among  the 
different  countries  in  EU,  in  the  next  graphs 
(Figure  7  to  Figure  13),  the  fire  danger 
trends  as  determined  by  FWI  are  shown  for 
countries  grouped  by  main  bioclimatic  type 
(e.g.  Mediterranean,  temperate  or  boreal). 
Data are given for 2016-2018. 

13 

Figure 7. Fire danger trends 2016-2018 in eastern EU 
Mediterranean countries (CY, HR, EL). 

Figure 8. Fire danger trends 2016-2018 in western 
EU Mediterranean countries (FR, IT, PT, ES). 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
14 

Figure 9. Fire danger trends 2016-2018 in some northern EU 
temperate countries (BE, DE, IE, NL, PL, UK). 

Figure 10. Fire danger trends 2016-2018 in some central EU 
temperate countries (AT, CZ, SK). 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
15 

Figure 11. Fire danger trends 2016-2018 in some eastern EU 
temperate countries (BG, HU, RO, SI). 

Figure 12. Fire danger trends 2016-2018 in some EU boreal 
countries (EE, FI, LV, LT, SE). 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
16 

Figure 13. Fire danger trends 2016-2018) in the Balkans and 
Anatolia (AL, BA, ME, MK, TR). 

Figure 14. Fire danger trends 2016-2018 in MENA countries 
(DZ, MA, TN). 

As  in  previous  years,  the  Member  States 
gave  very  positive  feedback  on  the  danger 
assessment  activity,  urging  that  the  EFFIS 
Danger  Forecast  should  be  continued  and 
improved as part of the European Forest Fire 
Information System. This dialogue with users 
and  other  stakeholders  is  bound  to  result  in 
an  improved  civil  protection  and  forest  fire 
service  across  Europe,  and  helps  meet  the 
environmental 
EU’s  aim  of  providing 
that  can  be 
information  and  services 
combined  with  other  global  environmental 
information  products,  in  support  of  the 
Copernicus  (formerly  Global  Monitoring  for 
Environment and Security - GMES) initiative. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.2  The  EFFIS  Rapid  Damage 

Assessment: 2018 results 

The  Rapid  Damage  Assessment  module  of 
EFFIS  was  set  up  to  provide  reliable  and 
harmonized  estimates  of  the  areas  affected 
by  forest  fires  during  the  fire  season.  The 
methodology and the spatial resolution of the 
satellite  sensor  data  used  for  this  purpose 
allows all fires of about 30 ha or larger to be 
mapped.    In  order  to  obtain  the  statistics  of 
the  burnt  area  by  land  cover  type  the  data 
from the European CORINE Land Cover 2006 
(CLC)  database  were  used.  Therefore  the 
mapped burned areas were overlaid with the 
CLC  data,  making  it  possible  to  derive 
damage  assessment  results  comparable  for 
all the EU countries. 

three  short-wave 

EFFIS Rapid Damage Assessment is based on 
the analysis of MODIS satellite imagery. The 
MODIS  instrument  is  on  board  both  the 
TERRA  (morning  pass)  and  AQUA  (afternoon 
pass)  satellites.  MODIS  data  has  2  bands 
with  spatial  resolution  of  250  metres  (red 
and  near-infrared  bands)  and  5  bands  with 
spatial resolution of 500 metres (blue, green, 
infrared  bands). 
and 
Mapping  of  burnt  areas  is  based  mainly  on 
the  250  metre  bands,  although  the  MODIS 
bands  at  500  metres  resolution  are  also 
used,  as 
they  provide  complementary 
information  that  is  used  for  improved  burnt 
area  discrimination.  This  type  of  satellite 
imagery  allows  detailed  mapping  of  fires  of 
around  30  ha  or  larger.  Although  only  a 
fraction  of  the  total  number  of  fires  is 
mapped  (fires  smaller  than  30  ha  are  not 
mapped),  the  analysis  of  historical  fire  data 
has  determined  that  the  area  burned  by 
wildfires of this size represents in most cases 
the  large  majority  of  the  total  area  burned. 
On  average,  the  area  burned  by  fires  of  at 
least  30  ha  accounts  for  about  75%  of  the 
total  area  burnt  every  year  in  the  Southern 
EU. 

Since  2008,  EFFIS  has  included  Northern 
African  countries  in  the  mapping  of  burned 
area, following the agreement with FAO Silva 
Mediterranea,  the  FAO  statutory  body  that 
covers the Mediterranean region. 

The results for each of the countries affected 
by forest fires of over 30 ha are given in the 
following  paragraphs  in  alphabetical  order, 
followed by a section on the MENA countries.  

The  total  area  burned  in  2018,  as  shown  by 
the analysis of satellite imagery, is shown in 
Table  1.  These  figures  may  also  include 
agricultural  and  urban  areas  that  were 
burned  during  the  forest  fires.  Figure  15 

17 

below shows the scars caused by forest fires 
during the 2018 season. 

In  2018  fires  of  greater  than  30  ha  were 
observed  in  39  countries  and  a  total  burnt 
area of 203 295 ha was mapped. This is less 
than one-sixth the amount burnt in 2017 and 
lower  than  the  long  term  average.  However, 
large  fires  were  recorded  in  more  countries 
than usual, and parts of Northern Europe had 
a  worse  than  average  year.  (Figure  21 
below). 

Table 1. Areas burned by fires of at least 30 ha in 
2018 estimated from satellite imagery. 

Country 

Area (Ha) 

Number 
of Fires 

Albania 
Algeria 
Belgium 
Bosnia & Herzegovina 
Bulgaria 
Croatia 
Cyprus 
Denmark 
Estonia 
Finland 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Hungary 
Iraq 
Ireland 
Israel 
Italy 
Kosovo under UNSCR 1244 
Latvia 
Lebanon 
Libya 
Malta 
Montenegro 
Morocco 
Norway 
Poland 
Portugal 
Romania 
Serbia 
Spain 
Sweden 
Switzerland 
Syria 
North Macedonia 
The Netherlands 
Tunisia 
Turkey 
United Kingdom 
TOTAL 

3280.27 
1716.09 
165.27 
3139.29 
2025.09 
1289.06 
441.31 
463.2 
440.04 
411.09 
2422.18 
3702.16 
12065.71 
95.92 
116.15 
2868.48 
105.3 
14649.08 
1393.73 
2546.39 
74.14 
272.48 
31.94 
4404.2 
1132.65 
352.52 
397.46 
37146.27 
3340.96 
5799.87 
11639.73 
21604.83 
26.27 
1570.59 
2391.15 
77.41 
986.09 
40678.31 
18032.26 
203294.9 

14 
21 
5 
12 
15 
7 
7 
4 
9 
11 
20 
36 
34 
2 
1 
29 
2 
147 
12 
8 
2 
4 
1 
23 
17 
10 
5 
83 
42 
46 
90 
74 
1 
22 
18 
2 
6 
271 
79 
1192 

 
 
 
 
18 

Figure 15. Burnt scars produced by forest fires during the 2018 fire season. 

Figure 16. Total number of fires >30 ha by month and country in 2018. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 17. Total burnt area of fires >30 ha by month and country in 2018. 

19 

The  total  burnt  in  protected  areas  in  2018 
was  48 950 ha,  less  than  a  quarter  that 
recorded  in  2017.  Portugal  was  the  most 
affected  country  in  2017,  accounting  for 
around  45%  of  the  total  Natura2000  burnt 
area,  almost  all  from  a  single  large  fire  in 
Monique.  UK  and  Spain  account  for  around 
12% and 10% respectively. 

Summary 

Total Area 
(Ha) 
135855.9 
Other European countries  61465.6 

EU28 

Middle East and North 
Africa 
Natura2000 and protected 
sites 

5973.5 

48949.7 

Damage to Natura2000 sites 

Of  particular  interest  is  the  analysis  of  the 
damage  caused  by 
fires  to  the  areas 
protected within the Natura2000 network, as 
they  include  habitats  of  especial  interest 
which  are  home  for  endangered  plant  and 
animal species.  

The category of Natura2000 areas only exists 
in  the  countries  of  the  European  Union. 
Information on other protected areas outside 
the  EU  is  presented  for  those  countries  for 
which  the  information  is  available.  The  area 
burnt  within  the  Natura2000  and  other 
protected sites is presented below.  

Country 

Area (Ha) 

% of 
Natura2000 
Area 

Number 
of Fires 

Belgium 
Bulgaria 
Cyprus 
Denmark 
Estonia 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Hungary 
Ireland 
Italy 
Latvia 
Poland 
Portugal 
Romania 
Spain 
Sweden 
Netherlands 
UK 
EU28 total 
Algeria 
Morocco 

165.27 
2025.09 
441.31 
463.2 
440.04 
2422.18 
3702.16 
12065.71 
95.92 
2868.48 
14649.08 
2546.39 
397.46 
37146.27 
3340.96 
11639.73 
21604.83 
77.41 
18032.26 
48706.23 
26.86 
216.57 

TOTAL 

48949.7 

165.27 
898.38 
0.3 
456.69 
74.4 
387.53 
3291.95 
2331.38 
58.85 
1500.8 
3588.64 
1118.02 
339.99 
22078.89 
1293.18 
4815.09 
360.74 
76.48 
5869.65 

0.016 
0.028 

0.043 
0.024 
0 
0.119 
0.009 
0.006 
0.06 
0.065 
0.003 
0.165 
0.062 
0.153 
0.006 
1.155 
0.03 
0.035 
0.006 
0.013 
0.333 
261 
1 
2 

264 

Figure 18. Burnt area in Natura2000 sites and other protected areas in 2018. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Affected land cover types 

58% of the burnt area in 2018 was in Forest 
and Other Wooded Land, as identified by the 
CORINE  Land  Cover  Type  classification 
system (Figure 19).  

This  is  similar  to  the  proportion  burnt  last 
year,  although 
is 
significantly 
lower.  The  historic  average 
proportion burnt in Forest and Other Wooded 
Land is around 45%. 

total  amount 

the 

20 

Figure 19. a) Proportions of land cover types affected in 2018 (all countries); b) Total burnt area by land cover 
type 2011-2018 (all countries). 

Figure 20. Burnt area in each country in 2018 by CORINE land class 

European countries 

In  2018,  22  of  the  EU28  countries  were  affected  by  fires  of  over  30 ha:  (Belgium,  Bulgaria, 
Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, 
Latvia,  Malta,  the  Netherlands,  Poland,  Portugal,  Romania,  Spain,  Sweden,  United  Kingdom), 
burning 135 856 ha in total (only around 13% of the amount that was recorded in 2017).  

Of  this  total,  48 706 ha  (36%)  were  on  Natura2000  sites.  Although  Portugal  was  again  the 
country  with  the  highest  burnt  area,  its  total  was  a  small  fraction  of  the  area  lost  to  fire  in 
2017  and  one  of  the  lowest  totals  of  the  last  10  years  (only  2014  was  lower).  Italy  recorded 
more fires than any other EU28 country, as shown by Figure 16 and Figure 17 above.  

Figure 21. Burnt area weekly evolution and cumulative burnt area in 2018 (European Union countries). 

 
 
 
 
    
 
 
   
 
 
Burnt areas are split into different land 
cover types using the CLC 2006 database 
unless otherwise specified. 

1.2.1 

Albania 

The total burnt area of 3 280 ha recorded in 
Albania  was  less  than  10%  of  the  amount 
recorded in 2017, and the lowest since 2014. 
There  were  14  fires  of  over  30  ha  in  2018 
(compared  with  223  in  2017).  Most  of  them 
occurred 
in  September  and  October, 
relatively  late  in  the  year.  The  burnt  area 
scars left by the 2017 fires in Albania can be 
seen in Figure 22. 

Table 2. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Albania by 
land cover types in 2018. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
TOTAL 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
2727.54 
294.91 
257.82 
3280.27 

% of total 
burned 
83.15 
8.99 
7.86 
100 

21 

1.2.2 

Belgium 

Large fires are relatively rare in Belgium, but 
in  2018  there  were  5  fires  over  30  ha  which 
burnt  a  total  of  165  ha  between  February 
and  September.  The  fires  occurred  in  Other 
Natural Land, all on Natura2000 sites. 

1.2.3 

Bosnia and Herzegovina 

Bosnia-Herzegovina  had  very  few  large  fires 
in  2018,  and  the  season’s  total  was  the 
lowest  recorded  since  2009.  Most  of  the 
damage  occurred  in  August  and  September. 
In  total  there  were  only  12  fires  over  30  ha 
mapped in the year. Visible fire scars caused 
by  forest  fires  in  Bosnia-Herzegovina  can  be 
seen in Figure 22below. 

Table 3. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Bosnia-
Herzegovina by land cover types in 2018. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Artificial Surfaces 
Other Land Cover 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
1982.47 
653.57 
491.75 
0.19 
11.3 

% of total 
burned 
63.15 
20.82 
15.66 
0.01 
0.36 

TOTAL 

3139.28 

100 

Figure 22. Visible fire scars in Eastern Europe in 2018. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.2.4 

Bulgaria 

1.2.1 

Cyprus 

22 

Bulgaria  also  had  the  best  year  since  2014, 
with  less  than  half  the  burnt  area  recorded 
compared  with  2017.  A  total  of  15  fires  of 
over  30 ha  were  mapped,  the  majority  in 
August.  Four  fires  burnt  more  than  500  ha, 
with  the  largest  occurring  in  Blagoevgrad 
burning  1 646  ha  at  the  end  of  August.  Of 
the  annual  total,  4 403 ha  occurred  on 
Natura2000  sites,  amounting  to  84%  of  the 
total  and  0.117%  of  Natura2000  land.  The 
scars  caused  by  these  fires  can  be  seen  in 
Figure 22 above.  

Table 4. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Bulgaria by 
land cover types in 2017. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Artificial Surfaces 
TOTAL  

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
1567.89 
2218.92 
1411.04 
15.37 
5213.22 

% of total 
burned 
30.08 
42.56 
27.07 
0.29 
100 

1.2.5 

Croatia 

In  common  with  the  rest  of  the  Balkans, 
Croatia  had  a  light  season  with  only  a  small 
fraction of the burnt area compared to 2017. 
There  were  7  fires  over  30  ha  between  July 
and  October  burning  a  total  of  1 289  ha. 
Almost  all  of  the  damage  occurred 
in 
September-October.  The  scars  caused  by 
these fires can be seen in Figure 23. Table 5 
presents  the  distribution  of  the  mapped 
burnt area by land cover type. 

Table 5. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Croatia by 
land cover types in 2018. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Artificial Surfaces 
TOTAL 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
585.8 
598.59 
104.42 
0.25 
1289.06 

% of total 
burned 
45.44 
46.44 
8.1 
0.02 
100 

Figure 23. fire scars in Croatia in 2018. 

Cyprus  had  a  relatively  good  year  with  7 
fires over 30 ha occurring between June and 
November.  Of  the  441  ha  total,  practically 
none (0.3 ha) occurred on Natura2000 sites. 
Table  6  presents  the  distribution  of  the 
mapped burned area by land cover type.  

Table 6. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Cyprus by 
land cover types in 2018. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
396.3 
40.32 
4.69 

% of total 
burned 
89.8 
9.14 
1.06 

TOTAL 

441.31 

100 

1.2.2 

Denmark 

Denmark had a second year with unusual fire 
activity  after  the  2017  season.  4  fires 
occurred in May and October, burning a total 
of 463 ha, 98% of it on Natura2000 sites. 

Table 7. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Denmark 
by land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
7.09 
438.4 
17.71 

% of total 
burned 
1.53 
94.65 
3.82 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
TOTAL 

463.2 

100 

1.2.3 

Estonia 

Estonia is not usually affected by large fires, 
but  in  2018  there  were  9  fires  over  30  ha 
between  May  and  August,  burning  440 ha. 
74.4 ha of this occurred on Natura2000 sites, 
amounting  to  17%  of  the  total  and  0.009% 
of the Natura2000 land in Estonia. 

Table 8. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Estonia by 
land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agricultural Areas 
Other Land Cover 
TOTAL 

Area 
burned 
279.77 
(ha) 
156.35 
2.4 
1.51 

% of total 
burned 
63.58 
35.53 
0.54 
0.34 

440.04 

100 

1.2.4 

Finland 

Like  Denmark,  Finland  also  experienced  a 
second  year  of  unusual  fire  activity,  with  11 
fires  burning  a  total  of  411  ha  between  May 
and July. No Natura2000 land was affected. 

Table 9. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Finland 
by land cover types in 2018. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Artificial surfaces 
TOTAL 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
301.33 
47.16 
62.36 
0.25 
411.09 

% of total 
burned 
73.3 
11.47 
15.17 
0.06 
100 

 
 
 
 
 
1.2.5 

France 

After  two  severe  fire  seasons,  France  had  a 
light  year,  similar  to  2015.  There  were  fires 
of  over  30  ha  mapped  in  from  January  to 
November,  but  unusually,  two-thirds  of  the 
total  burnt  area  occurred  early  in  January. 
This  included  the  largest  fire  of  the  year 
which  burnt  1 266  ha  in  Corsica,  and  which 
accounted  for  half  the  annual  total  of  the 
country.  In  total  there  were  20  fires  of  over 
30  ha,  affecting  2 422 ha.  Of  this,  388 ha 
were  on  Natura2000  sites,  corresponding  to 
16% of the total area burned, and 0.006% of 
the total Natura2000 areas in the country.  

23 

Table  10  presents  the  distribution  of  the 
mapped  burnt  area  by  land  cover  type.  The 
burnt  scars  left  by  the  fires  occurring  in  the 
southern  region  of  the  country  and  in 
northern Corsica are shown in Figure 24. 

Table 10. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in southern 
France and Corsica by land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Artificial Surfaces 

Area 
burned 
1483.86 
(ha) 
875.39 
62.05 
0.88 
TOTAL   2422.18 

% of total 
burned 
61.26 
36.14 
2.56 
0.04 

100 

Figure 24. Visible burnt area scars in the South of France and Corsica in 2017. 

1.2.6 

Germany 

Germany’s  fire  season  was  the  worst  for 
years, with 36 fires over 30 ha burning 3702 
ha,  significantly  more  than  the  previous  5 
years  combined.  Fires  occurred  every  month 
between  February  and  September,  although 
the worst of the season was in the later part 
of  the  year.  The  biggest  fire  of  the  year 
burned  over  1000  ha 
in 
September.  Of  the  annual  total,  3 292  ha 
occurred  in  Natura2000  sites,  amounting  to 
89%  of 
the 
Natura2000 area in the country. 

total  and  0.06%  of 

in  Emsland 

the 

Table 11. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Germany 
by land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 

Area 
burned 
1456.01 
(ha) 
2189.38 
56.77 
TOTAL   3702.16 

% of total 
burned 
39.33 
59.14 
1.53 
100 

Figure 25. Fire scars in Germany in 2018. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.2.7 

Greece 

Although  Greece  had  a  relatively  light  year 
for  burnt  area  in  2018,  with  around  two-
thirds of the previous year’s total affected, it 
also experienced one of the most deadly fires 
worldwide in terms of human casualties. 

In  July  two  fires  started  on  the  same  day  in 
Attiki  province.  The  larger  one  in  Kineta 
covered  more  than  5 000  ha,  but  it  was  the 
second  slightly  smaller  one  (over  1 000  ha) 
in  Mati  that  resulted  in  the  eventual  deaths 
of 100 people.  

In total 12 066 ha from 34 fires was mapped 
of  which  2 331  ha  occurred  on  Natura2000 
sites,  amounting  to  19%  of  the  total  and 
0.065%  of  the  total  Natura2000  area  of 
Greece.  

24 

Fires  occurred  from  January  to  November, 
but  nearly  60%  of  the  damage  occurred  in 
July,  including  the  two  in  Attiki  province. 
There  were  four  other  fires  over  500  ha. 
Table  12  presents  the  distribution  of  the 
mapped  burnt  area  by  land  cover  type. 
Figure  26  shows  the  burnt  area  scars  in 
Greece, including the two large fires in Attiki. 

Table 12. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Greece by 
land cover types in 2018.  

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Artificial Surfaces 
Other Land Cover 

Area 
burned 
8030.91 
(ha) 
1611.8 
1878.04 
488.69 
56.26 
TOTAL  12065.71 

% of total 
burned 
66.56 
13.36 
15.57 
4.05 
0.47 
100 

Figure 26. Burnt area scars in Greece in 2018. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.2.8 

Hungary 

In Hungary only two fires of over 30 ha were 
mapped.  Both  occurred  late  in  the  season 
(September  and  October)  and  the  second 
one  (59  ha)  occurred  on  a  Natura2000  site, 
representing  61%  of  the  burnt  total  and 
0.003%  of  the  Natura2000  area  in  the 
country.  

Table 13. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Hungary 
by land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
TOTAL 

Area 
burned 
3.41 
(ha) 
58.85 
33.65 
95.92 

% of total 
burned 
3.56 
61.36 
35.08 
100 

1.2.9 

Ireland 

Ireland  continued  a  pattern  of  alternating 
good/bad  years  with  less  than  50%  of  the 
damage  that  was  recorded  in  2017.  There 
were  29  fires  of  over  30  ha  which  burnt  a 
total  of  2 868  ha.  The  fire  season  lasted 
most  of  the  year,  with  fires  recorded  from 
February  to  November.  52%  of  the  burnt 
area (1 501 ha) was recorded in Natura2000 
sites,  corresponding  to  0.165%  of  the  total 
Natura2000  land  in  the  country.  The  most 
affected  land  type  was  Other  Natural  Land, 
as shown in Table 14. 

Table 14. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Ireland by 
land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Other Land Cover 

Area 
burned 
567.79 
(ha) 
2197.45 
82.31 
20.92 
TOTAL  2868.48 

% of total 
burned 
19.79 
76.61 
2.87 
0.73 
100 

1.2.10 

Italy 

less  than  one 

After the disastrous year in Italy in 2017, the 
fire  season  of  2018  was  a  quiet  one,  with 
14 649  ha  constituting  only  around  10%  of 
the burnt area compared with last year. The 
number of fires over 30 ha, while the second 
highest  recorded  (only  Turkey  had  more) 
fifth  of  those 
was  also 
registered  in  2017.  There  were  147  fires 
between  April  and  November,  with  60%  of 
the  damage  occurring  in  July.  Notable  large 
fires  occurred  in  Palermo  and  Pisa  regions, 
both over 1 000 ha, and there were also two 
other  fires  over  500  ha  (compared  with  41 
fires  over  500  ha  in  2017).Of  the  year’s 
total, 3589 ha occurred on Natura2000 sites, 
corresponding  to  24%  of  the  total  and 
0.062%  of  the  Natura2000  land  in  Italy. 
Table  15  presents  the  distribution  of  the 
mapped burnt area by land cover type.  

25 

Figure 27. Burnt area scars in central and southern 
Italy. 

Figure 28. Burnt area scars in Pisa region in Italy. 

Table 15. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Italy by 
land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Artificial Surfaces 

Area 
burned 
6057.83 
(ha) 
4697.26 
3800.49 
93.48 
TOTAL  14649.06 

% of total 
burned 
41.35 
32.07 
25.94 
0.64 
100 

1.2.11  Kosovo under UNSCR 1244 

In  Kosovo,  12  fires  of  over  30  ha  burned  a 
total  of  1394  ha,  around  one  third  of  the 
2017  total.  The  fires  occurred  late  in  the 
season,  between  September  and  November. 
Table  16  shows  the  classification  of  the 
burnt area by land type.  

Table 16. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Kosovo by 
land cover types in 2017.  

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 

Area 
burned 
914.46 
(ha) 
433.3 
45.96 
TOTAL  1393.72 

% of total 
burned 
65.61 
31.09 
3.3 

100 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.2.12 

Latvia 

Latvia’s fire season was the worst for several 
years,  in  common  with  many  other  northern 
countries.  8  fires  over  30  ha  burned  a  total 
of  2 546  ha  between  April  and  August, 
including  one  of  1 483  ha  that  occurred  in 
Kurzeme region in July and another over 500 
ha  in  Pieriga  region  in  June.  1118  ha  of  the 
damage  occurred 
in  Natura2000  sites, 
corresponding  to  44%  of  the  total  and 
0.153%  of  the  total  Natura2000  area  of  the 
country.  Table  15  Table  17  presents  the 
distribution  of  the  mapped  burnt  area  by 
land cover type. 

Table 17.  Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Latvia by 
land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Artificial Surfaces 

Area 
burned 
6057.83 
(ha) 
4697.26 
3800.49 
93.48 
TOTAL  14649.06 

% of total 
burned 
41.35 
32.07 
25.94 
0.64 
100 

1.2.13  Malta 

In  Malta  a  fire  of  32  ha  burned  mixed  land. 
No Natura2000 area was affected. 

Table 18. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Malta by 
land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Agriculture 
Artificial Surfaces 
TOTAL 

Area 
burned 
5.54 
(ha) 
24.42 
1.97 
31.94 

% of total 
burned 
17.35 
76.48 
6.18 
100.01 

1.2.14  Montenegro 

23 
in 
fires  over  30  ha  were  mapped 
Montenegro,  burning  4 404  hectares,  less 
than 10% of the amount of damage recorded 
in  2017.  Fires  were  recorded  through  the 
year  from  March  to  November,  although 
almost all of the damage occurred in August 
and  September.  Table  19  shows 
the 
classification of the burnt area by land type. 

Table 19. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in 
Montenegro by land cover types in 2018.  

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Other Land Cover 
TOTAL 

Area 
burned 
2338.99 
(ha) 
1762.35 
302.82 
0.04 

4404.2 

% of total 
burned 
53.11 
40.02 
6.88 
0 

100 

1.2.15  The Netherlands 

In the Netherlands two fires in March burned 
a total of  77 ha. Practically all of this  (99%) 
occurred  in  Natura2000  sites,  corresponding 

26 

to  0.013%  of  the  Natura2000  area  of  the 
country. 

Table 20. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in the 
Netherlands by land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
TOTAL 

Area 
burned 
12.77 
(ha) 
64.51 
0.13 
77.41 

% of total 
burned 
16.5 
83.33 
0.17 
100 

1.2.16  North Macedonia 

After 2017, the worst year since 2012, North 
Macedonia  had  the  best  year  for  8  years, 
with    only  18  large  fires  burning  a  total  of 
2 391 ha.  The  first  fires  were  recorded  in 
April,  but  three-quarters  of  the  damage  was 
in October and November. Visible scars from 
these fires can be seen in Figure 22 above. 

Table 21. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in North 
Macedonia by land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agricultural Areas 

Area 
burned 
1558.19 
(ha) 
688.33 
144.62 
TOTAL  2391.14 

% of total 
burned 
65.16 
28.79 
6.05 

100 

1.2.17  Norway 

In  Norway  there  were  10  fires  over  30  ha 
that  burned  a  total  of  353  ha,  slightly  more 
than was recorded in 2017. All but one of the 
fires occurred in July. 

Table 22. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Norway 
by land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
TOTAL 

Area 
burned 
272.81 
(ha) 
79.71 
352.52 

% of total 
burned 
77.39 
22.61 
100 

1.2.18  Poland 

There  were  5  fires  over  30  ha  in  Poland 
burning  a  total  of  397  ha.  The  biggest  one 
was  in  September  and  affected  272  ha.  Of 
the  total,  340  ha  (85%)  occurred  on 
Natura2000  sites,  corresponding  to  0.006% 
of the Natura2000 area of the country. 

Table 23. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Poland by 
land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Artificial surfaces 
Other Land Cover 
TOTAL 

Area 
burned 
76.37 
(ha) 
320.25 
0.81 
0.04 
397.46 

% of total 
burned 
19.21 
80.57 
0.2 
0.01 
100 

 
 
 
 
 
 
27 

1.2.19  Portugal 

Portugal  was  the  second  most  affected 
country in terms of burnt area in 2018, after 
Turkey.  However, 
total  amount  of 
the 
damage  was  a  fraction  of  the  amount 
recorded in 2017. 83 fires over 30 ha burned 
a total of 37 146 ha, less than 7% of 2017’s 
total  and  the  lowest  mapped  since  2014. 
Although  fires  were  recorded  from  February 
to  November,  practically  all  the  damage 
resulted  from  a  single  fire  in  the  Monchique 
(Algarve  region)  in  August,  which  burnt 
27 635  ha  and  which  alone  accounts  for 
three-quarters  of  Portugal’s  annual  total 
(Figure  29).  There  were  only  5  other  fires 
over  500  ha  (compared  with  59  over  1000 
ha in 2017). 

The distribution of the mapped burnt area by 
land cover type is shown in Table 24. Forest 
and  Other  Wooded  Land  was  heavily 
affected,  accounting  for  80%  of  the  mapped 
burnt area.  

Table 24. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Portugal 
by land cover types in 2018. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Artificial Surfaces 
Other Land Cover 
TOTAL 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
29925.52 
3968.11 
3173.21 
73.55 
5.88 
37146.26 

% of total 
burned 
80.56 
10.68 
8.54 
0.2 
0.02 
100 

Figure 29. Monthly burnt area in Portugal in 2018. 

The  Monchique  fire  was  also  the  largest  fire 
mapped  anywhere  across  Europe,  Middle 
East  and  North  Africa  in  2018,  and  covered 
the  same  area  as  the  next  10  largest  fires 
combined. 

However,  to  put  this  in  perspective,  the 
same  data  are 
in 
comparison  with  the  2017  mapped  monthly 
burnt areas in Portugal. 

reproduced  below 

The  mapped  burnt  areas in  Portugal  in  2018 
can be seen in Figure 30. 

22 079 ha of the burnt area mapped in 2018 
occurred on Natura2000 sites, corresponding 
to 59% of the total area burnt, and 1.155 % 
of the total Natura2000 areas in Portugal.  

Figure 30. Burnt area scars in Portugal in 2018. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28 

Table 26. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Serbia by 
land cover type in 2016. 

Land cover 
Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Other Land Cover 
TOTAL 

Area 
burned 
1770.71 
(ha) 
2800.31 
1199.63 
29.22 
5799.86 

% of total 
burned 
30.53 
48.28 
20.68 
0.5 
100 

1.2.20  Romania 

After  the  worst  fire  season  seen  for  several 
years  in  2017,  the  2018  season  in  Romania 
was  relatively  quiet  and  close  to  the  long 
term  average  (excluding  2017).  There  were 
42  fires  over  30  ha  burning  a  total  of  3341 
ha  between  February  and  November,  but 
nearly  half  of  the  damage  occurred  late  in 
the  year  in  November    (Figure  31).  Of  the 
total,  1 293  ha  (39%)  of  the  mapped  burnt 
area  was  on  Natura2000  sites,  a  lower 
proportion 
recent  years.  This 
represents  0.03%  of  the  total  Natura2000 
area  of  Romania.  Table  25  presents  the 
distribution  of  the  mapped  burnt  area  by 
land cover type. 

than 

in 

Table 25. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Romania 
by land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
1448.55 
753.24 
1123.62 
12.65 
2.89 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Artificial Surfaces 
Other Land Cover 
TOTAL 

% of total 
burned 
43.36 
22.55 
33.63 
0.38 
0.09 

3340.95 

100.01 

Figure 32. Burnt area scars in Serbia in 2018. 

Figure 31. Burnt area scars in Romania in 2018. 

1.2.21  Serbia 

The  fire  season  in  Serbia  was  better  than 
that  of  2017,  although  above  the 
low 
amounts  mapped  in  2013-5.  There  were  46 
fires over 30 ha, burning a total of 5 800 ha. 
Fires  were  mapped  from  April  to  November, 
but most of the damage occurred late in the 
year in October and November. 

Table  26  presents  the  breakdown  of  burnt 
area  by  land  cover  type.  Figure  32  shows 
the location of these fires. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.2.22  Spain 

After a bad year in 2017, Spain recorded the 
lowest burnt area since 2008. There were 90 
fires  over  30  ha  resulting  in  a  total  burnt 
area  of  11 640  ha,  less  than  10%  of  the 
previous  year’s  total.  Although  fires  were 
mapped in every month of the year, 50% of 
the  damage  occurred  in  August,  mostly 
because of two very large fires that occurred 
in Valencia (3 228 ha) and Huelva (1 744 ha) 
regions. 

on  Natura2000 

Of  the  total  burnt  area  mapped  in  2018, 
4 815 ha  were 
sites, 
corresponding  to  41%  of  the  total  area 
burned,  and  0.035%  of  the  Natura2000 
areas  in  Spain.  Table  27  presents  the 
distribution  of  the  mapped  burnt  area  by 
land cover type. The most noticeable fires in 
Spain during 2018 are shown in Figure 34. 

29 

Table 27. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Spain by 
land cover type in 2018. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Artificial Surfaces 
Other Land Cover 
TOTAL 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
8275.03 
2376.75 
827.44 
144.2 
16.3 
11639.72 

% of total 
burned 
71.09 
20.42 
7.11 
1.24 
0.14 
100 

Figure 33. Monthly evolution of burnt area in Spain in 
2018. 

Figure 34. Burnt area scars in the Iberian Peninsula in 2018. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30 

Of  the  total  burnt  area  mapped,  361  ha 
occurred  on  Natura2000  sites,  amounting  to 
1.7%  of  the  total  and  0.006%  of  the 
Natura2000  area  of  the  country.  Ost  of  the 
Natura2000 
in 
Coniferous forest. 

land  cover  affected  was 

Burnt  area  scars  of  the  fires  mapped  in 
Sweden in 2018 are shown in Figure 37. 

Figure 37. Burnt area scars in Sweden in 2018. 

1.2.23  Sweden 

the  worst 

fire  season 

Sweden  had 
in 
memory.  The  total  burnt  area  of  21 605  ha 
from  74  fires  over  30  ha  registered  as  the 
third  highest  of  the  year  after  Turkey  and 
Portugal,  an  unusual  ranking  for  a  northern 
country.  

Figure 35.Total mapped burnt area in Sweden 2007-
2018. 

Fires  were  mapped  from  May  to  September, 
although  practically  all  the  damage  occurred 
in  the  second  half  of  the  season.  The  third 
largest  fire  of  2018  occurred  in  Sweden  and 
covered  nearly  4 000  ha  in  Jamtlands  Ian  in 
July.  

Although  this  is  not  as  large  as  the  fire  that 
occurred  in  Sweden  in  2014  (over  12 000 
ha),  the  difference  in  2018  was  that  the 
burnt  area  resulted  from  numerous  fires  as 
opposed to one single large outlier. 

Figure 36. Monthly mapped burnt area in Sweden 
compared with long-term average (with and without 
outlying year 2014). 

Most of the burnt area occurred in Forest and 
Other Wooded Land (Table 28). 

Table 28. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Sweden 
by land cover types in 2018. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Other Land Cover 
TOTAL  

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
19458.27 
2108.13 
18.64 
19.79 
21604.82 

% of total 
burned 
90.06 
9.76 
0.09 
0.09 
100 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.2.24  Switzerland 

1.2.26  United Kingdom 

31 

In  common  with  other  more  northerly 
countries,  it  was  a  bad  year  for  the  UK, 
which  was  the  fourth  most  affected  country 
in  2018.  There  were  79  fires  of  over  30  ha, 
which burned a total of 18 032 ha, the most 
for  at  least  7  years.  In  addition  to  the  usual 
large  fires  seen  in  Scotland  early  in  the 
season  there  were  others  in  later  months, 
including  one  on  Saddleworth  Moor  in  July, 
which  burned  over  1 000  ha  and  was  of 
particular concern because of its proximity to 
Manchester.  There  were  10  fires  of  more 
than  500  ha.  Of  the  total,  5870 ha  occurred 
on Natura2000 land, amounting to 32.6% of 
the  total  burnt  area  and  0.333%  of  the 
Natura2000  land  in  the  UK.  After  Portugal, 
this was the greatest loss of Natura2000 land 
in  the  2018  season.  Other  Natural  Land  was 
by  far  the  most  affected  land  type  (Table 
31). 

Table 31. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in the UK by 
land cover types in 2018. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Artificial Surfaces 
Other Land Cover 
TOTAL  

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
800.31 
17075.73 
76.51 
79.69 
0.01 
18032.25 

% of total 
burned 
4.44 
94.7 
0.42 
0.44 
0 
100 

In  September  a  fire  of  26.27  ha  was 
mapped,  affecting  mostly  forest  and  Other 
Wooded Land. 

Table 29. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in 
Switzerland by land cover types in 2018. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Artificial surfaces 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
25.05 
1.22 
26.27 

TOTAL  

% of total 
burned 
95.37 
4.63 
100 

1.2.25  Turkey 

Despite  being  the  country  most  affected  by 
fires  over  30  ha  in  2017,  with  40 678  ha 
mapped  from  271  fires  over  30  ha,  Turkey’s 
fire  season  was  its  best  since  2014.  The 
burnt  area  total  was  slightly  less  than  last 
year and one third of that recorded in 2016. 
from  February 
Fires  were  mapped 
to 
November,  but 
the  majority  occurred 
between July and September. 

Unlike  previous  years,  Forest  and  Other 
Wooded  Land  was  the  most  affected  land 
type.  Table  30  presents  the  distribution  of 
the mapped burned area by land cover type. 
The  visible  scars  from  forest  fires  in  the 
south-east  of  the  country  are  shown  in 
Figure 38. 

Table 30. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Turkey by 
land cover types in 2018. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Artificial Surfaces 
Other Land Cover 
TOTAL  

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
19783.71 
17360.34 
3516.62 
7.73 
9.76 
40678.15 

% of total 
burned 
48.63 
42.68 
8.64 
0.02 
0.02 
99.99 

Figure 38. Burnt area scars in Turkey in 2018. 

Figure 39. Burnt area scars in the UK in 2018. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
32 

Table 33. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Israel by 
land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
21.17 
46.18 
37.94 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
TOTAL 

% of total 
burned 
20.11 
43.86 
36.03 

105.3 

100 

1.3.4 

Lebanon 

In  Lebanon  two  fires  in  July  and  August 
burned  74  ha,  a  slight  increase  on  the  2017 
figures. Table 34 presents the distribution of 
the  mapped  burnt  area  by  land  cover  type 
land  cover  map, 
the  Globcover 
using 
harmonised with CLC.  

Table 34. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Lebanon 
by land cover types in 2018. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
TOTAL 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
16.78 
17.07 
40.28 
74.14 

% of total 
burned 
22.64 
23.03 
54.33 
100 

1.3.5 

Libya 

There were four fires over 30 in Libya in May 
and June, covering a total of 273 ha, a slight 
increase  on  2017.  Table  35  presents  the 
distribution  of  the  mapped  burnt  area  by 
land  cover  type  using  the  Globcover  land 
cover map, harmonised with CLC. 

Table 35. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Libya by 
land cover types in 2018. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Agriculture 
TOTAL 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
170.71 
101.77 

% of total 
burned 
62.65 
37.35 

272.48 

100 

1.3  Middle  East  and  North 

Africa 

The 2017 fire season in North Africa and the 
Middle  East  was  significantly  better  than 
average,  with  a  total  burnt  area  recorded 
over the region of 5 973 ha, just over 5% of 
the average over the past 8 years. 

1.3.1 

Algeria 

Algeria’s  fire  season  was  the  best  for  10 
years, with only 21 fires over 30 ha mapped. 
A total of 1716 ha were affected, only around 
2%  of  the  long  term  average.  Most  of  the 
fires occurred in July and August and only 27 
ha  affected  protected  areas. The  burnt  scars 
left  by  these  fires  can  be  seen  in  Figure  40 
below.  The  Globcover  land  cover  map  from 
ESA  was  used  to  split  the  burnt  area  into 
different  land  type  categories,  harmonised 
with CLC terminology, and the distribution of 
burnt area by these land cover types is given 
in Table 32. 

Table 32. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Algeria by 
land cover types in 2017. 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
889.13 
295.34 
500.54 
31.08 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Artificial Surfaces 
TOTAL 

% of total 
burned 
51.81 
17.21 
29.17 
1.81 

1716.09 

100 

1.3.2 

Iraq 

A  fire  of  116  ha  was  mapped  in  Iraq  in 
June. 

1.3.3 

Israel 

There  were  two  fires  over  30  ha  mapped  in 
Israel,  one  in  May  and  the  other  in  July, 
burning a total of 105 ha. 

Figure 40. Burnt area scars in eastern Algeria and Tunisia in 2018. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
1.3.6 

Morocco 

1.3.7 

Syria 

1 

Morocco’s  fire  season  was  better  than  the 
previous two years. 17 fires burned a total 
of 1 133 ha between February and August, 
around  a  third  of  the  10-year  average.  Of 
the  annual  total,  217 ha  occurred 
in 
Protected  Areas,  amounting  to  19%  of  the 
total  burnt  in  the  year  and  0.028%  of  the 
total  protected  areas  of  the  country.  The 
distribution  of  burnt  area  by  land  cover 
types, using Morocco’s own land cover map 
but with terminology harmonised with CLC, 
is  given  in  Table  36  and  the  burnt  area 
scars  left  by  the  fires  are  shown  in  Figure 
41. 

Table 36. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Morocco 
by land cover types in 2018. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
TOTAL 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
889.07 
13.67 
229.9 
1132.64 

% of total 
burned 
78.5 
1.21 
20.3 
100.01 

Figure 41. Burnt area scars in Morocco in 2018. 

Syria’s  total  mapped  burnt  area  was  the 
lowest  since  2011.  Fires  were  mapped 
from  May  to  September,  but  90%  of  the 
June  and 
damage  occurred  between 
August. There were 22 fires of over 30 ha, 
resulting in a total burnt area of 1 571 ha. 
The Globcover land cover map, harmonised 
with  CLC,  was  used  to  split  the  burnt  area 
into different land type categories. Table 37 
shows  the  distribution  of  burnt  area  in 
Syria by land type.  

Table 37. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Syria by 
land cover types in 2018. 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
1109.94 
29.93 
430.72 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
TOTAL  

% of total 
burned 
70.67 
1.91 
27.42 

1570.59 

100 

1.3.8 

Tunisia 

In  Tunisia  it  was  the  best  year  for  forest 
fires  since  2009,  with  a  total  burnt  area 
only  5%  of  that  mapped  in  2017.  There 
were 6 fires greater than 30 ha recorded in 
July and August burning a total of 986 ha, 
although  95%  of  the  damage  occurred  in 
July.  Figure  40  above  shows  the  burnt 
scars left by these fires. The distribution of 
burnt  area  by  land  cover  types  using 
Tunisia’s  own  land  cover  map  but  with 
terminology harmonised with CLC, is given 
in Table 38. 

Table 38. Distribution of burnt area (ha) in Tunisia 
by land cover types in 2018. 

Forest/Other Wooded Land 
Other Natural Land 
Agriculture 
Other Land Cover 
TOTAL 

Land cover  Area burned 
(ha) 
979.41 
4.67 
1.49 
0.52 
986.09 

% of total 
burned 
99.32 
0.47 
0.15 
0.05 
100 

Table 39. Overview of fires in the MENA region in the last 10 years. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
2 

GETTING IN TOUCH WITH THE EU 

In person 

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On the phone or by email 

Europe Direct is a service that answers your questions about the European Union. You can contact this 
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http://bookshop.europa.eu. Multiple copies of free publications may be obtained by contacting Europe 
Direct or your local information centre (see http://europa.eu/contact). 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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doi:10.2760/262459 

ISBN 978-92-76-01938-1