Sixth generation or mega -government fires: what are they and why they are so dangerous

Sixth generation are not common fires. It’s about Extremely large, fast and destructive firesthat exceed the traditional extinction capacities. They can advance at high speed, change suddenly and generate their own climatic conditions, such as fire storms or intense winds, which makes them even more dangerous.

These types of fires usually appear in a context of climate change, high temperatures, prolonged droughts and accumulation of plant fuel (such as dry branches, leaves or thickets). All this creates a perfect scenario for a fire to get out of control and grow without limits.

Here you can know the fire storms: what they are, how they form and risks.

How many generations of forest fires are there?

Currently, they are recognized 6 generations of forest fires, classified according to their behavior, complexity and the control capacity of extinction services.

1st generation

• Simple and easy to control fires.
• They mainly affect light fuels (thickets and pastures).
• They go out with basic terrestrial media.

2nd generation

• Faster and with greater intensity.
• They affect areas with densest vegetation (low mountain and young forests).
• They require more advanced aerial and tactical media.

3rd Generation

• Greater energy and propagation.
• Influenced by the relief and local meteorology.
• They need more complex coordination and preventive strategies.

4th generation

• They occur in extreme weather conditions (heat waves and intense droughts).
• Difficult to contain; They can affect nearby urban areas.

5th Generation

• High speed of propagation, erratic behavior.
• Capable of creating high -distance sources (fire jumps).
• They impact urban and agricultural areas, with risk for the population.

6th generation

• Fires that exceed extinction capacity.
• They self -food, generate their own climate (pyrocuse and fire storms).
• They can last weeks and extend for thousands of hectares.

Therefore, when talking about sixth generation, reference is made to the most extreme and dangerous level, closely linked to climate change and the accumulation of fuel in the forests.

Sixth generation fires have a series of characteristics that clearly differentiate them from conventional forest fires:

• Great extension: These fires can cover thousands of hectares in a short time. They are not limited to a specific area, but can expand rapidly and affect vast natural, rural and even urban areas.
• High intensity and speed: The flames reach much higher temperatures than usual and advance at high speed. This greatly hinders extinction work and reduces the possibilities of action by emergency equipment.
• Generation of extreme phenomena: They can generate fire storms, smoke columns that create erratic rays and winds that revive the flames in multiple directions. In some cases, they form pyrocuse, clouds that are born from the heat of the fire and can produce their own rain or even rays that cause new foci.
• Unpredictable behavior: Its evolution is very difficult to anticipate. They can change direction without warning, cross roads, rivers or firewalls, and jump long distances by incandescent particles that the wind drags.
• Ability to affect inhabited areas: They are not limited to remote forest areas. These fires advance towards urban nuclei, putting entire populations, homes and infrastructure at risk.
• Prolonged duration: Unlike other fires that can be controlled in hours or days, mega -capital can be kept active for weeks or even months, especially if adverse climatic conditions are given such as extreme heat, drought and constant wind.

Climate change is not only altering the global climate, but also creating much more conducive conditions so that forest fires turn larger, intense and difficult to control.

• Heat waves are increasingly frequent, long and intense. High temperatures dry vegetation and reduce soil moisture, creating a perfect atmosphere for any spark to become an uncontrolled fire.
• In many regions, the rains are increasingly scarce or poorly distributed. This causes an accumulation of dry material (such as branches, shrubs and leaves), which acts as a highly flammable fuel.
• Although some areas continue to receive rains, many times they do it in the form of intense and punctual storms that fail to moisten the terrain sustainably. This means that vegetation grows rapidly during rains, but then dries and becomes fire fuel.
• Climate change also alters wind patterns. Stronger and more changing winds not only help spread the flames, but make it difficult to predicate their behavior, which endangers both emergency equipment and population.

Six -generation fires represent an unprecedented threat due to their strength, behavior and destructive capacity because They grow so fast and with such intensity than the Traditional Extinction Media as aircraft, helicopters or terrestrial brigades They become insufficient. In many cases, you can only act at the edges or wait for climatic conditions.

They are also so dangerous because they can quickly reach villages, urbanizations and cities. They generate extreme phenomena such as wind bursts, rays or smoke columns that modify the environment. These factors make the fire change suddenlyspread through the air at a great distance and turn on in already controlled places.

In this other post we talk about the consequences of forest fires.

Although this type of extreme fires were more common in countries such as Australia, the United States or Canada, in recent years Spain has also begun to suffer sixth generation fires, especially due to the increase in temperatures, the longest heat waves and the accumulation of dry vegetation in rural and forest areas.

These are some of the most prominent examples in the Spanish territory are:

Navalacruz fire (Ávila, 2021)

Considered one of the first sixth generation fires in Spain. It began by a mechanical failure in a car and spread rapidly due to extreme heat and wind. He razed more than 22,000 hectares and forced to evacuate more than 1,000 people. His behavior was very aggressive and overflowed the means of extinction available in the area.

Sierra Bermeja Fire (Málaga, 2021)

Another emblematic case. He burned about 10,000 hectares and forced some 2,600 people to evict. The most worrying thing was that the fire developed a pirrocumulus, that is, a cloud created by the heat of the fire that feeds its expansion. This phenomenon marked a before and after in the history of forest fires in Spain.

Fire in Ateca (Zaragoza, 2022)

Originated by reforestation works with machinery in full heat wave, this fire grew rapidly to affect more than 14,000 hectares. Its intensity, propagation speed and closeness to inhabited nuclei forced to evacuate thousands of people. It was cataloged by experts as an extreme behavior fire.

Although it is very complex to be able to prevent them, there are some key measures such as:

• Active forest management: Clean, clarify and maintain forests to reduce that flammable load, especially in areas near peoples and homes.
• Recover the rural environment: The abandonment of the fields and the depopulation of the rural world have contributed to the increase in risk. Traditional activities such as agriculture, extensive livestock or firewood collection helped maintain clean and manageable landscape.
• Design fire -resistant landscapes: Creaters can be created, maintaining crops and open spaces between forest masses and ensuring that urban environments are not surrounded by vegetation without control.
• Education and citizen awareness: A large part of the fires have human origin: poorly turned off barbecues, butts, agricultural burning or negligence. Informing and training the population about risk, especially in times of high danger, can avoid many catastrophes.

Here we tell you more about how to prevent forest fires.

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