Characterization of wildfires in Basque Country and comparison with other Iberian Peninsula Regions.

This study presents a comparative characterization of wildfires in the Basque Country in relation to other regions of the Iberian Peninsula. The primary aim is to understand the patterns and dynamics of wildfires at different spatial scales and the regional-to-local differences between territories. To this end, various statistical techniques are applied to analyze both temporal and spatial aspects of fire activity, considering different aggregation levels such as autonomous community, province, and municipality.

The fire data used come from the National Wildfire Database, provided by the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. This database includes more than 30 years of historical wildfire records, with event information on detection dates, burned forested and non-forested areas, causes, geographic location, and other variables.

The methodology combines descriptive statistics, spatial analysis, and some visual data analytics techniques to examine fire frequency, severity, spread, and other characteristics. Clustering is used to identify similarities in terms of fire incidence, seasonality, and size distribution. From the original variables, additional indicators are derived at different spatial and temporal aggregation levels to allow interregional comparisons, including weather factors.

Special attention is given to the comparison between the Basque Country and other Spanish regions, focusing on regional differences in wildfire behavior. For this purpose, different normalizations are applied to the indicators. The results reveal significant spatial and temporal variability in wildfire occurrences, with some areas showing higher fire frequencies associated with specific factors. While the Basque Country experiences far fewer wildfires than neighboring territories, it displays similar patterns in terms of seasonality and fire causes.

Overall, the findings provide valuable insights into forest fire behavior across some territories of the Iberian Peninsula and highlight the importance of considering local conditions at multiple scales when designing forest fire prevention and response strategies. This comparative approach allows for a deeper understanding of wildfire in the Basque Country, emphasizing both similarities and differences with other regions that feature diverse geographical and climatic contexts. The results may contribute to more effective wildfire management policies at the regional and local levels.