The flames came dangerously close to engulfing the town, reviving memories of the 2009 inferno in nearby Horta de Sant Joan that killed five firefighters.

 

For Mayor Enric Adell, the fear was unlike anything else the community had endured. "We've lived through a pandemic, a nationwide blackout, torrential rains — but a fire like this is different. People feared losing everything, and worse, being trapped," he recalled.

 

Paüls was spared thanks to the bravery of hundreds of firefighters, a sudden shift in the winds, and sheer luck. But one firefighter, Antonio Serrano, lost his life. Above the town, the blackened trees stand as a stark reminder: in Spain, when a wildfire strikes, it leaves scars long after the flames are gone.

 

A nationwide struggle

 

This year's fires have stretched across the country, from Galicia in the northwest to the beaches of Tarifa in Andalucía, and from Madrid's suburbs to the parched landscapes of Extremadura. The devastation is all too familiar. Spain, already scarred by the lethal heat and fires of the summer of 2022, once again finds itself grappling with the realities of a warming world.

 

Environment minister Sara Aagesen warned this week that climate change is magnifying the risk. "Our country is especially vulnerable," she said, stressing the need to reinforce and professionalize prevention efforts.

 

The science is clear. Rising temperatures, shifting weather patterns, and poor land management are combining to create conditions ripe for catastrophic fires. This spring's unusually heavy rains spurred lush vegetation, which then dried under successive heatwaves, leaving behind vast amounts of tinder. Add in "flash droughts" — sudden dry spells that strip even irrigated land of moisture — and Spain faces what experts call an explosive mix.

 

Warnings unheeded

 

Cristina Montiel, a professor at Madrid's Complutense University, says firefighters are performing "extraordinarily magnificent" work, but the deeper problem is societal. "Despite the evidence, we don't want to acknowledge the danger we're living in. If we did, we would act differently," she said.

 

Half a century ago, most wildfires were deliberately set. Today, many stem from negligence or accidents. But they spread with terrifying speed due to climate change and the abandonment of rural landscapes. As villages like Paüls lose population, fewer people farm or manage the land, leaving gullies and forests overgrown and primed to ignite.

 

"If there were 100 people working the land before, now there are 30," said Adell. "If this trend continues, soon there will be almost no one left."

 

Prevention, not just suppression

 

Experts agree that throwing more helicopters and fire engines at the problem is no solution. "If we think we can just extinguish every fire with more equipment, we're creating an unsustainable situation," said fire analyst Marc Castellnou.

 

Instead, innovative approaches are gaining traction. One is the Ramats de Foc ("Fire Flocks") scheme, launched in Catalonia in 2017. Local shepherds graze sheep and goats in fire-prone areas, clearing undergrowth that would otherwise fuel blazes. The program, coordinated by the Pau Costa Foundation, now involves about 120 shepherds managing 8,000 hectares, with expansion planned in Andalucía and the Canary Islands.

 

"It's about prevention and management, not more helicopters," said coordinator Marc Arcarons. The scheme also gives shepherds a financial boost: their products, branded with the Fire Flocks label, can be sold at a premium to environmentally conscious consumers.

 

A long road ahead

 

But even successful programs cannot erase decades of neglect or undo the effects of climate breakdown overnight. "These are processes," said Montiel. "If things began deteriorating 50 years ago, we can now start reversing them — but we cannot expect results in two summers."

 

For Paüls, relief has given way to reflection. The fire may have been contained, but its shadow lingers in the charred hillsides and in the collective memory of a community that knows how close it came to tragedy. Across Spain, the lesson is the same: without urgent action to adapt landscapes and mitigate climate change, wildfires will continue to test the country's resilience — and its future.