Fires at the interface: the case of cropland fires in the Paris metropolitan region

Cropland fires represent the vast majority of fire incidents in the agricultural plains of northern France. These fires are characterized by very rapid rates of spread, similar to grassland fires (Cruz et al., 2020), which makes their control particularly challenging in densely populated areas.

Our study focuses on the Seine-et-Marne department, located east of the Paris metropolitan region. This territory is characterized by a strong interface between urban and suburban settlements and extensive agricultural land, combined with intense housing densification and the development of logistics and industrial hubs. These dynamics have led to the emergence of a rural–urban interface (RUI) marked by high fuel continuity. Unlike southern France, this interface is not subject to specific fuel discontinuity regulations such as the Obligations Légales de Débroussaillement, increasing the exposure of human settlements to fast-spreading cropland fires.

We first analyse recent fire incidents that have spread from croplands to residential or industrial areas in order to illustrate the specific vulnerability of the rural-urban interface to this type of fires. These case studies are used to identify operational challenges and to examine how fire services have adapted their response strategies to this hazard. Secondly, we analyse the spatial and temporal patterns of cropland fires using operational data from the Seine-et-Marne Fire Department (SDIS 77). We quantify the proportion of fires occurring within interface areas by applying buffer zones corresponding to the theoretical fuel management regulations implemented in southern France. This approach allows us to estimate the share of fires occurring in close proximity to human settlements. Finally, remote sensing data are used both to validate the operational fire database and to further document cropland fire events within the RUI through satellite imagery. This combined approach enables us to quantify and characterize the specific vulnerability of rural–urban interfaces to cropland fires.

Based on these results, we draw broader lessons for the assessment and management of wildfire risk in non-forested agricultural landscapes throughout Europe (Wang et al., 2025). While extensive forest fires represent a major operational challenge for fire services at the national scale, cropland fires constitute a significant and often underestimated risk for fire departments in northern France. These fires operating at different scales, there needs to be more specific research to understand, prevent and fight those more efficiently.

Bibliography :

Cruz, M. G., Hurley, R. J., Bessell, R., & Sullivan, A. L. (2020). Fire behaviour in wheat crops–effect of fuel structure on rate of fire spread. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 29(3), 258-271.

Wang, J., Zhong, X., Zhao, J., Shen, X., Wang, M., He, J., Meng, X., Chen,Q.,  Lu, X., Wang, L., Yue, C. (2025). Spatiotemporal changes in global cropland fire activity from 2003 to 2020. Global and Planetary Change, 255