2021 International Wildfires

Wildfires in Russia’s north raged beginning in June 2021, with smoke is so intense that for the first time ever, it reached the North Pole. There were so many fires that officials had to focus only on the biggest ones and/or ones likely to do the most harm. At the height of the fires, Siberia’s fires alone were bigger than the rest of the world’s fires combined. As of mid-September, almost 46 million acres had burned, setting Russia’s all-time record for wildfires – 18.16 million hectares compared to 18.11 million hectares in 2012 – and fires were still burning. According to Greenpeace, 9 out of 10 fires were human-caused (campfires, coal trains and electrical lines) and the remainder were caused by lightning.

Immense forest fires began burning around July 28 and the majority were extinguished within two weeks but not before causing enormous damage. Nearly 225 fires in 47 provinces consumed the country, leading to mass evacuations and major destruction. More than 656 square miles (1,700 square kilometers) were burned, destroying forests, homes, agricultural land and livestock. Centuries-old olive groves were decimated. Nine people were killed by the fires, including two firefighters. Social media reports laid the blame on arson, specifically citing the terrorist group “Children of the Fire Initiative,” which is linked to Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). “The PKK has a long history of burning Turkey’s forests as a method of ’vengeance’ from the Turkish state and causing civilian deaths and environmental destruction in the process.”

A wildfire on the northern half of Evia (an island 30 miles NE of Athens) began on July 21 and burned for more than 20 days. The fire burned during an extreme heatwave, with temperatures higher than 100 degrees Celsius most days. At least 120,000 acres of forest burned, two people were killed and 20 injured. The government created a Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection in response to the fires, which the prime minister blamed on climate change. The damage cost the country $1.6 billion (1.2 billion euros) or 0.6% of GDP, which makes them eligible for the European Union’s Solidarity Fund. The fund helps members states who suffer damages after natural disasters with losses of 0.6% of the GDP (which applies in Greece’s case) or 3 billion euros.

Nearly 45,000 wildfires had burned across Italy by mid-August including on Sardinia and Sicily. Other hard-hit areas were Calabria, Lazio, Basilicata, Campania and Apulia. In Sardinia, the fires destroyed at least 50,000 acres across a 25-mile strip of land. Homes, animals, land and farms all fell to the fire. Also lost was the village of Cuglieri’s thousand-year-old olive tree. In early August, “Roberto Cingolani, minister for ecological transition, told parliament that 57.4% of Italy’s recent wildfires were caused by arson, and 13.7% the result of unintentional human action. ‘More than 70% of the fires in Italy are our responsibility,’ he said. ‘Less than 2% are caused naturally, for example, by a lightning strike. For 4.4%, the cause is undetermined, and 22% are unclassifiable situations in which it is difficult to know what triggered the fire.’”

A series of fires broke out across Lebanon beginning on July 28. They continued throughout August, including some in the northern part of the country that spread to Syria. High temperatures in late August led to even more fires, including one in Sfireh that surrounded olive groves. At least one firefighter was killed. On July 14, the United Nations issued a warning that Lebanon was on the brink of a water crisis because of the economy. There were fears that this could impact the ability of communities and residents to respond to fires. The Qobayat area, home to one of the most beautiful forests in Lebanon, was badly damaged. Home to oak, pine and cedar trees, the government said tens of thousands of trees were destroyed as the fire spread 4 miles long by 1.2 miles across.