Christine Eriksen on European wildfires; fire-resilient landscapes and community involvement

Christine Eriksen on European wildfires; fire-resilient landscapes and community involvement

“Europe must learn to live with fire“ | ETH Zurich

“Europe must learn to live with fire“

Severe wildfires are raging across Europe. ETH researcher Christine Eriksen argues that destructiveness of wildfires is often determined by social and cultural processes.

France, Spain and Greece are once again battling severe wildfires. Is this the new normal for Europe? Christine Eriksen: Not everywhere, but the trend is clear. Southern European countries have always experienced wildfires. What is changing is their frequency, intensity and scale, also in northern Europe. We are increasingly seeing wildfires that firefighters can not stop. Their only option is to get people out of harm’s way.

Could Switzerland face similar problems? Countries such as Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia were traditionally not considered wildfire-prone countries. But that is changing. Climate projections show that wildfire risk will continue to increase across the Alpine region.

Why are the fires we currently see in Europe so destructive? Climate change is one reason, but it is not the whole story. There is a dangerous interaction between a hotter, drier climate, increasing tree mortality, changes in land use and decades of strict fire suppression policies.

What do you mean by fire suppression policies? In many countries, farmers and foresters have for some time been prohibited from using slow, cool controlled fire to maintain healthy landscapes. In France, for instance, forests have therefore accumulated enormous amounts of dry material in the undergrowth, which provides the perfect fuel for wildfires. Combined with high temperatures and strong winds, that creates extremely dangerous conditions.

external page Christine Eriksen is the Principal Investigator of a 5-year project focusing on community wildfire resilience in Europe (FiRES). The FiRES project is funded by a Consolidator Grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation and is hosted by ETH Zurich. Before joining ETH, she worked as a social scientist at University of Wollongong, Australia. She has published numerous case studies on the social dimensions of disasters in Australia, the USA, Europe and Africa.

What role do changed land use practices play? One important factor is that more and more people live at the edge of forests and natural vegetation. More houses are therefore at risk, and these houses become fuel when wildfires reach them. Another factor is rural abandonment.

Could you please explain that? Many rural areas have lost population due to agricultural modernisation and better paying jobs in the city. Traditional environmental knowledge is disappearing, and fewer people actively manage small-scale forests and farms. As a result, there are fewer natural firebreaks and a lot of vegetation is accumulating. That also increases fire risk.

So what should Europe do differently? We need to recreate fire-resilient landscapes and move beyond the idea that all fire is bad. Historically, many landscapes benefited from controlled burning and other land-management practices that reduced the amount of flammable material. The question is simple: would you rather have a little smoke for a few days during a controlled burn, or huge amounts of smoke for weeks or months during a catastrophic wildfire?

How can societies prepare for a more fire-prone future? We need healthier and more diverse forests. Monocultures are vulnerable. A mix of tree species creates resilience. We also need fire-resistant building practices, better spatial planning and stronger cooperation between scientists, local communities and practitioners. Most importantly, we need to involve communities much more actively in wildfire preparedness.

You lived and worked in Australia for many years. What can Europe learn from Australia? Australia has spent decades building resilience from the community level upwards. People living in fire-prone areas are actively encouraged to understand the risk and learn to mitigate it through preparedness measures.

And in Europe? Europe still tends to rely on a top-down approach: authorities just tell people what to do during an emergency. Australia puts much more emphasis on knowledge sharing and shared responsibility between authorities and communities.

What does that look like in practice? It starts with very practical things: knowing the local risks, talking to neighbours, understanding evacuation routes and reducing fire hazards around your home. Research shows that people who know their neighbours are often much better prepared. Communities become more resilient when people help each other and understand who might need assistance during an emergency.

How well prepared is Switzerland? Some cantons, such as Ticino, already have experience of dealing with wildfires. Switzerland also benefits from strong forest management and well-maintained protective forests, but more trained wildland firefighters are needed. Switzerland could also improve community engagement. The country has strong traditions of solidarity and volunteering. Those strengths could be used more proactively before disasters occur, not only afterwards.

You often talk about “living with fire”. What does that mean? It means recognising that not all fires are harmful. Many indigenous communities distinguish between “good fire” and “bad fire”. Good fire helps maintain healthy ecosystems, including in Europe. Bad fire is the kind of catastrophic wildfire we are seeing today. Living with fire means understanding the role fire plays in the landscape and learning how to manage it intelligently, rather than assuming we can control or eliminate it completely.

04.08.2026 by Christoph Elhardt, Corporate Communications