Integrated Fire Management – empowering action for a fire-resilient Europe

Integrated Fire Management -empowering action for a fire-resilient EuropeBurnt areas in the European Union exceeded 1 million hectares at the end of 2025-double the amount of areas burned in 2024 and the worst year since 2006 when the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) records were started.Extreme wildfire events are occurring more often, owing to changing climate conditions and land use changes, such as land abandonment.In Europe, this is leading to higher fuel continuity and an extension of the wildfire season from early spring into late autumn.Wildfire risk is also increasing in previously considered "low-risk" regions in Central and Northern Europe.Studies are starting to suggest that fire-related mortality may be underestimated by 93%.Wildfire suppression alone has long been deemed insufficient to mitigate wildfire risks in the EU and current policies face being caught in a "firefighting trap": successful firefighting by suppressing every wildfire in the short-term leads to fuel accumulation and increased risk for the next fire if no active management is pursued.Adaptation of the Integrated Fire Management framework by Myers (2006) based on European Commission: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (2018) for the European context.