Spain prepares for eclipse under shadow of wildfire risk

The full solar eclipse, visible in totality from only Spain and Iceland early on the evening of Aug 12, offers an example of how climate change will reshape the management of major public events.

Listen MADRID – Spain is rolling out a massive police operation and public safety campaign ahead of a rare total solar eclipse on Aug 12 that will coincide with one of the country’s highest-risk periods for wildfires .

Regional governments along the eclipse path across Spain – offering the best views of the solar event in mainland Europe – are seeking to corral an expected influx of six million people by designating 660 official viewing sites, along with parking and camping areas.

More than 35,000 officers will be deployed in a security operation to minimise the risks – such as fires caused by dropped cigarettes – linked to large gatherings in natural areas, Virginia Barcones, secretary-general for Civil Protection and Emergencies at Spain’s Interior Ministry, told Reuters.

“We’ve had an extremely tough summer in Spain, with yet another series of major forest fires. That's why we must restrict any kind of activity that could generate a spark,” Barcones said.

A control room in Madrid, seen by Reuters, is where the authorities will lead a surveillance operation in coordination with regional governments.

The full solar eclipse, visible in totality from only Spain and Iceland early on the evening of Aug 12 , offers an example of how climate change will reshape the management of major public events.

Several Spanish regions are under alerts issued by weather agency Aemet for the day of the eclipse due to temperatures of up to 40 deg C and a “high” or “very high” wildfire risk.

Spain, along with France and Greece, has already battled heatwaves and severe wildfires this summer across an increasingly tinder-dry Europe .

“This is a very bad time of year... It’s statistically the week when the most wildfires occur in Spain,” said Raul de la Calle, secretary-general of the Association of Forest Technical Engineers.

Some residents of small towns have launched their own public awareness campaigns urging visitors to avoid sensitive natural areas.

In Buitrago de Lozoya, a town of 2,000 residents north of Madrid, local group Monte en Pie (Keeping Woodlands Alive) staged a protest against events planned near forests.

The nearby town of Tres Cantos cancelled all eclipse-day events because of wildfire risks, though around 3,000 people – including Madrid’s regional leaders – are still expected at an observation site near Buitrago.

Monte en Pie argues that while the eclipse will last only a few minutes, the damage caused by a major wildfire could endure for decades.

“We are in a high wildfire-risk area. Barbecues and the use of machinery are prohibited because the countryside is extremely dry... The more people there are, the greater the danger,” said Ana Hernandez, the group’s leader.

The authorities estimate that around 1.5 million people could be on the roads during the day, travelling to rural north-western and central Spain, which is along the total eclipse’s path.

National and local authorities have launched public awareness campaigns, warning on local and social media and in visitors’ forums online against parking in unauthorised areas, littering, using barbecues or venturing into fire-prone countryside.

Fire risks do not, however, appear to be deterring astro-tourists. Travel platform Booking.com reported that foreign searches more than tripled in inland cities such as Burgos and Soria, while Amadeus travel data showed that bookings to the northern region of Asturias were up 292 per cent from a year earlier.

Around 70 per cent of Spain’s rental motorhomes, camper vans and caravans – around 500,000 vehicles – have already been booked for the eclipse period, industry association ASEICAR said. REUTERS

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