JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE - EU SCIENCE - Half of the burnt surface in Ireland in 2021 was in Muckross

The total burnt area of 3 609 hectares from 50 fires mapped in Ireland in 2021 was slightly higher than in the last three years, although this is mostly because of a very large fire of 1 799 hectares that occurred in April in the Muckross municipality in the South-West province. 61% of the burnt area was recorded in ‘Natura 2000’ protected sites, according to the mapping provided by the JRC European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) in the Advance Report 2021 on Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa recently released by the JRC.

date: 03/03/2023

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See also: European fire risk assessment

2021 was the second worst wildfire season in the European Union since 2000 when the EFFIS records began. Damages in 2021 were only surpassed by those in 2017, when over 1 million hectares burned in the EU. Of the total burnt area in 2021 of half a million hectares, 20% occurred on ‘Natura 2000’ protected sites. The first data available for 2022 are looking even worse.

The JRC provides a pivotal contribution to wildfire disaster risk reduction in Europe and globally through the development and operation of EFFIS. In August, a Pan-European wildfire risk assessment was published with the aim to conciliate previous approaches used by different countries, making a comparable assessment across countries and regions in Europe possible. This harmonised method will support the EU and its Member States in protecting lives and the natural environment by enhancing planning and coordination of prevention, preparedness and cross-border firefighting actions.