As for the fires themselves, 400 are considered deliberately started and 2,300 fires were caused in relation to somebody using fires negligently.
That might sound like a huge number but that figure is noticiably down on the average over the last ten years. However, the number of large fires causing most damage has increased by 25% in with respect to 2020.
There is no getting away from the fact that 80% of hill or forest fires were caused by the Human hand, deliberately or not. The biggest culprits are badly managed bonfires (farm, branch cuttings) and badly maintained LT/HT electricty lines
Andalucía is the region of Spain where there have been most fires, followed by Castilla y León and Cantabria. In the cases of Cantabria and Asturias, most of the fires that occur take place mainly in the winter and spring – not summer.
Furthermore a good number of the large fires that have consumed most terrain were caused by motor vehicles, going where they should not, as well as in some cases vehicle fires that have spread to vegetation around them.
Fortunately, the use of satellite imagery and other high-tec tools has helped the Guardia Civil enormously in real time and calculations to pin point the exact point of origin; i.e., where the fire started and whether a fire had a single or multiple point of origin.
The police also manage a mental profile of arsonists and pyromaniacs to help understand the culprit and in some cases predict their next move.
The following are a few cases of the worst fires this year:
Navalacruz (Ávila): caused by a roadside vehicle fire resulting in the loss of 22,000 hectáreas of vegetation.
Sierra Bermeja (Málaga): This fire not only destroyed protected areas of natural beauty but it also cost the life of a fire fighter and required the evacuation of over a thousand people from their homes. Investigation into the fire is still ongoing.
San Roque (Cádiz): One person was arrested for causing this fire in a paraje natural as a ruse to distract the police whilst drugs were being landed on the coast. This has led to the discovery that several fires this year were also started as a diversion to distract police units. As a result the person arrested has been accused of a total of eight such fires.
Villarrasa (Huelva): The Guardia Civil arrested two individuals in relation to this fire, which destroyed 870 hectares. Citizen collaboration and police investigation tracked the cause of the fire down to a poorly maintained lorry.
(News: Andalucia)