- The following article is a publication on Interreg.eu highlighting the FIREPOCTEP+ project and can be read in its original version via this link.
- FIREPOCTEP+ is an operation of strategic importance co-financed by the European Union through the Interreg Spain–Portugal (POCTEP) cooperation programme.
“We’re Already in the First Minute of the Next Fire”: What Europe Can Learn from the Iberian Peninsula’s Megafires
As Europe experiences yet another summer of extreme heat, memories of last year’s devastating wildfires on the Iberian Peninsula serve as a warning. For forestry expert Juan Picos, those fires were never just an isolated crisis—they were a preview of what could become Europe’s new normal.
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When devastating wildfires swept across the Iberian Peninsula in August 2025, forestry expert Juan Picos saw something he had long feared become a reality. In just 20 days, more than 500,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land burned. Thousands of people were forced to leave their homes. For Picos, Professor of Forest Engineering at the University of Vigo (Spain), it was not simply another fire season.
“I didn’t just know those places by name—I also knew the people behind them.”
For years, Picos has worked on wildfire prevention on both sides of the Spain–Portugal border through projects such as FIREPOCTEP and FIREPOCTEP+, funded by the Interreg Spain–Portugal Programme. These projects help communities, researchers and public authorities prepare for increasingly extreme wildfires.
Despite everything he has experienced, he still describes himself with characteristic simplicity: “A forester is always an optimist. We plant trees that we may never live to see fully grown.”
When the fires broke out, he cancelled his holiday. From home, he monitored the advance of the flames almost in real time, using satellite tools to map fire perimeters and simulation models to understand where they were likely to spread next. At the same time, his Forest Engineering students and former students working on the ground were sending him photographs.
He also remained in close contact with farmers and forest landowners he had worked with through the project, providing them with information, context and, sometimes, simply reassurance.
“It was important to provide information that was as accurate and calm as possible because, in situations like this, the closer you are, the less you can actually see.”
At the same time, he spoke regularly to the media to help explain what was happening and counter misinformation. And while the fires were still burning, it also became clear that some of the tools and approaches developed through FIREPOCTEP were proving their value, even if they could not, on their own, prevent the disaster.
‘I wish I had been wrong’
For years, Picos and his team had been mapping fuel loads and identifying strategic areas where preventive work would matter most. During the fires, they watched the flames move into exactly those places.
‘On one hand, there is the satisfaction of saying: I was right. On the other, I wish I had been wrong.’
Some of the project’s preventive work proved its value. In Alto Minho, Portugal, Portuguese forestry firefighters managed to defend Natura 2000 areas where FIREPOCTEP had already demonstrated preventive measures.This meant the ideas generated and tested during the project worked under real pressure.
Sadly, though, in one community in Monterrei, where forest owners had spent years managing their land carefully, the forest still burned. The fires were simply too big. That is one of the hardest things to explain to people who had done everything right.
‘The first thing they tell you is: you see? It made no difference. It burned anyway.’
It is, he says, like having the best parachute on a plane that crashes. The parachute is still the best one. But if the plane never gives you the chance to jump, it cannot save you. Despite all the preparation, the fire was bigger than what one person or one community could stop.
.Fire management operations around Corno do Bico Area (Portugal) as part of a FIREPOCTEP+ pilot. Photo: Emanuel Oliveira.
‘Today’s big fires become the parents of tomorrow’s big fires’
The emergency, in Picos’ view, does not end when the flames are gone. Large fires leave behind risks that can shape the next one. Some people abandon the land because they no longer have the means or the strength to start again. Forests often grow back in a more uniform way, making future fires harder to control. And in the most damaged areas, the soil loses its ability to retain water, making drought worse.Together, these create the conditions for another crisis. ‘Today’s big fires become the parents of tomorrow’s big fires’.
‘We cannot waste time, because even if it sounds catastrophist, the next fire has already started. We’re already in the first minute of the next fire and it is in our hand to prevent the same situation from happening again’.
The first step is stabilisation: identifying the most damaged areas and preventing rain from carrying soil and ash into rivers and wetlands. Then comes restoration. But restoration does not always mean rebuilding exactly what was there before. Sometimes, Picos says, it is a chance to build something more resilient.
‘We are dealing with two huge energies: the atmosphere and the territory’
Fires in Galicia are far less frequent than they used to be, Picos says, with only about 10% as many in 2024 as in 1994. But the ones that do happen are now far larger.
In 2022, the region saw its first fires larger than 10 000 hectares. In 2025, there were fires above 30 000 hectares. Part of the reason is climate change. Another part is what experts call “fuel load”: the build-up of vegetation and combustible material in abandoned rural areas.
Fewer people living and working on the land means less day-to-day management and more vegetation accumulating over time. When extreme weather and accumulated fuel meet, the result can become impossible to control.
‘We are dealing with two huge energies: the atmosphere and the territory.’ And when they connect, he says, human capacity can be overwhelmed.
‘No trapeze artist puts the net in place while falling’
Cross-border cooperation, he argues, matters most in the time before a fire. FIREPOCTEP brings together partners from across the Spain-Portugal border, one of Europe’s biggest wildfire hotspots.
Over time, that cooperation has built relationships between researchers, local authorities, firefighters and communities. And when the fires came, those relationships activated immediately and in a natural way, as well-oiled personal connections usually do.
Partners shared data, exchanged expertise and helped each other understand what was happening. For Picos, it works like a trapeze artist’s safety net. ‘No trapeze artist puts the net in place while falling. The network needs to be there already’.
That, for him, is one of Interreg’s biggest strengths. Beyond project deliverables, it creates something less visible but equally important: trust. And trust moves fast in an emergency.
‘We are not fighting the fires of next year’
Wildfire prevention, Picos insists, is not about next summer but about the next decade. It means working on the landscape, supporting the people who still manage it, and preparing professionals for a new kind of fire reality. It also means staying the course.
‘We are not fighting the fires of next year. We are fighting the fires of the next decade’. Because what happened in Iberia in 2025 may not stay in Iberia. And if there is one thing these fires showed, it is that Europe cannot wait until the next emergency to prepare for it.
Picos knows the work is far from over. But when he looks back at those days, and ahead to what comes next, he holds on to one simple thought: ‘In some years, someone may ask me: when this happened, what were you doing?’
His answer is already clear: ‘I was there. I was trying’..Fire managemnt Fire management operations around Corno do Bico Area (Portugal) as part of a FIREPOCTEP+ pilot. Photo: Emanuel Oliveira.operations around Corno do Bico Area (Portugal) as part of a FIREPOCTEP+ pilot. Photo: Emanuel Oliveira.
How Interreg POCTEP Supports Wildfire Resilience Along the Spain–Portugal Border
Wildfires are one of the greatest shared challenges on both sides of the Spain–Portugal border. Through Interreg POCTEP, cooperation goes beyond emergency response by supporting wildfire prevention, preparedness and post-fire recovery.
Projects such as FIREPOCTEP+, PAISACTIVO and REFLORESTA help communities reduce risks, restore affected areas and prepare for increasingly severe wildfire seasons.