The FIRE-SCENE project addresses the challenges posed by the increase in extreme and simultaneous wildfires in the Mediterranean area, exacerbated by climate change. Characterized by hotter and drier conditions, fires cause significant impacts on citizenship, infrastructure, and local economies, and also create new challenges for Civil Protection systems, such as risk management, community engagement, and resource allocation. The project’s objective is to develop innovative methodologies and advanced tools for integrated risk management, including planning and governance. In this sense, an analysis of the specificity of the territories and the people living in them is essential in order to act on risk awareness, community resilience, and the ability to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to wildfires. There are three main risk scenarios in the case studies in Spain, Greece and Italy: fires in peri-urban areas, fires near high-tourism areas, and fires in protected areas and/or recreational sites. The tools and best practices developed are in support of civil protection authorities and entities responsible for Disaster Risk Management (DRM) at local and national levels, also contributing to the implementation of the European wildfire prevention action plan.
Goals and expected results
The project aims to develop specific tools for Risk Assessment and Planning across four pilot sites, each focused on specific risk scenarios and tailored solutions:
- Pilot 1 (Spain): develop a methodology to identify peri-urban areas (WUI) with low self-protection capacity in the Catalonia region, with the goal of planning adaptation actions (updating protocols, local emergency plans, etc.)
- Pilot 2 (Greece): create an integrated classification scheme for urbanized areas at risk and an advanced tool for wildfire risk management and awareness-raising in tourist areas in Rhodes and East Attica
- Pilot 3 (Italy): assess and map current and future wildfire risks in the Calabria region, considering the impact of climate change and using advanced fire danger forecast models based on artificial intelligence, rapid assessments of emergency risk scenarios, and innovative simulations to support prevention activities
- Pilot 4 (Spain): develop an operational plan for Civil Protection in protected areas and recreational sites in Catalonia.
The project aims to produce a review of existing wildfire risk governance models and consequently propose solutions to improve them. It also explores and collects best practices and lessons learned to deal with new risk scenarios at the European level through stakeholders exchange meetings to improve risk awareness and facilitate the adoption of the results in Civil Protection systems.
CIMA Research Foundation’s contribution
CIMA Research Foundation coordinates the activities related to all pilot projects and specifically develops and implements innovative tools for wildfire risk management in Calabria. It is therefore in charge of producing annual fuel maps, using artificial intelligence techniques, which allow the integration of data on vegetation, topography and climate indices using machine learning algorithms. In parallel, the most fire-susceptible forests in tourist areas are mapped in detail using drones equipped with advanced technology to analyze the physical properties of fuels and plan wildfire prevention strategies.
CIMA Research Foundation then oversees the development of a daily bulletin system for various stakeholders, including operational rooms, population, and actors involved in the pilot areas. The operational chain for bulletin dissemination is strategically designed to ensure effective knowledge sharing and increased awareness.
In addition, training activities and an awareness campaign culminating in a stress test are planned to assess the ability of accommodation facilities to ensure the safety of resident tourists or facilitate evacuations.
Photograph: Zurla Marco/UIF
