<
https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/jul/18/the-impossible-choices-of-a-deadly-wildfire-season>
"César Alcaraz had only just become a firefighter in the late 1990s when he
found himself ambushed by a fast-moving blaze. Barely able to breathe and with
no more water left in his truck, he and his colleagues fled an inferno ravaging
Spain’s Montgó mountain region, wishing their bosses had sent more support.
But nearly three decades on, as an officer with Alicante’s provincial
firefighters, Alcaraz has more sympathy for the agonising choices that
commanders have to make. When wildfires overwhelm an area, his job resembles
that of a doctor in an emergency room with too few ventilators.
It is a dilemma growing more onerous as wildfires worsen across the
Mediterranean – and is beginning to confront countries as cold as the UK, where
wildfires are invading cities, homes and gardens.
“It’s not just about having more fires to fight, it’s the risk of operational
collapse,” said Alcaraz, who sits in the command centre and sees concurrent
blazes occurring more often and earlier in the year. “When two or three fires
break out simultaneously, we are forced to make immediate triage decisions.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
