Climate change has heightened the risk of forest fires and wildfires in Europe. EU agencies are cooperating across borders and using artificial intelligence to predict and prevent disasters.
The [**cross-border cooperation between Spain and Portug**al ](https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/projects/Europe/interregional-mutual-assistance-in-e mergencies-and-cross-border-risks)established at the Interreg-EU funded ARIEM+ project (2014 – 2020) continues with ATEMPO. The new follow-up project includes Artificial Intelligence and advanced technology for risk analysis. Emergency services in cooperation with academia aim to develop AI models for prevention and fire extinction.
“This project has a significant focus on technological advancements applied to the fight against forest fires,” says, Teresa Mompín, head, Forest and Wildfire Department, Junta Castilla y León: “Artificial intelligence can support us both in prevention and extinction. In prevention, how? Because it helps us anticipate and understand the danger and risk situation in each part of the territory.
“AI can be an opportunity to better understand the behavior of these fires that we call “sixth-generation fires”, as they behave in ways that do not conform to expected statistical parameters.”
Saving lives and property
AI could play a vital role in saving lives and property, Teresa Mompín tells us: “From the perspective of extinction, once the fire has already started, we rely on these tools that through simulators tell us the probability of the fire reaching a certain area, displaying specific behavior, affectecting a town, which must be evaluated. In other words, they support us in making decisions during the extinction process.”
“We are gradually trying to integrate into the AI all the data from all the means and resources used to respond to the fire and their performances, to potentially simulate what an operational response might be. In other words, it (AI) can advise us on which tactics, strategies, or resources might be most recommended based on the type of fire.”