Those Greek forest fires. No, I know nothing about them other than what’s in the newspapers.
Just a small note from here in Portugal. The incidence of fires seems to have gone down quite a lot over the past couple of years.
The decline appears to have coincided with a change in the law. It used to be that if your forest burnt down you were pretty much guaranteed planning permission on it. Now you have to replant it.
Incentives matter or what?
Do they still have vast swathes of eucalyptus plantation out there? They had a centre for renewable energy somewhere north of Lisbon (I think – doesn’t narrow it down much, I know) that was surrounded by the stuff. Being particularly dense and flammable (the eucalyptus, not the centre, though on second thoughts…), it used regularly to go up in flames. I wonder whether they finally had enough and planted something more suitable? And I wonder if eucalyptus has anything to do with the prevalence of fires in Australia? It’s just a guess – might be completely wrong. But a quick google found this, which suggests there may be something in it.
There’s your post on a bank-holiday, by the way.
Tim adds: Eucalyptus, yes, biut as you say, a lot of that is north of Lisbon.
That Monchique project is the next set of hills over. About 30 km away. Sounds like a good idea…although I’m astonished to think that there are lynx there. Maybe in the extended area, but not the area I know by that name perhaps.
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