Moses2013

Sad to read this and so early in the year:.
https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/...hange-to-blame
It's also hard to believe that the holiday season hasn't even started and makes you wonder how much longer mass tourism can continue if it never rains.
I recently returned and have never seen it this dry in March and we usually see a few days with a bit of rain, but absolutely nothing.
Even Bilbao could hit 30C today, but luckily for them it will rain again and be back to Irish temps by Saturday.

Ronnyone

There has been one raging all weekend, I saw on the news. Its been so dry - it is not to with the heat though. In fact the majority of fires are caused by humans - some intentional, some negligence ( throwing cigarettes from car windows) some from forestry workers where sparks occur in heavy machinery. Its not the extreme heat that's the problem Its the lack of rain.

Moses2013

I know and apparently a spark it was this time. Well maybe not at this time of the year, but heat is also a big problem and the hotter it gets the more water people want to use/the quicker it dries up, so it all plays a part.

Ronnyone

Fire today in Asturias and cause is already determined as intentional! It's the drought that provides the conditions - although it is warmer than usual this month the temperatures are not exceptionally hot only in the mid 20s where the fires start but the ground is parched.

Moses2013

Thanks, just looked up
https://euroweeklynews.com/2023/03/3...ing-on-ground/
You are so used to the heat now that mid 20s is a cool day for you, for us that would be a scorcher. Some days it was 18°C/19°C while we were over in Spain and for us a pleasant beach day, but some locals and non coastal people had their usual winter jackets on because the wind was too strong for them.

Ronnyone

Where I live locals basically live by certain traditions. At the moment we are in spring and next week is Semana Santa. This is the week of the processions. People will still have on coats and carry umbrellas as its famous for rain. Tradition also dictates that you don't change to shorts and sandals until the official day of summer which usually means the middle of June. My son's school doesn't allow shorts until the last week of school!!! It might seem strange to us Brits but remember Spanish find it wierd that we walk around British supermarkets in flip flops and shorts on Saturdays even in January!!!

Moses2013

I know, well I would never wear flip flops anyway but then again it's not only the Brits or in my case Irish. Where we are in Girona province you see plenty of people from Andorra (only 3 hours drive) and they are always in shorts, same with other nationalities such as the Dutch or Germans and then Scandinavians in general. Saying that, we are not far from Lloret which is very international and easy-going. Many have the picture of a pure party town in summer, but it's actually certified as a sports tourism destination by the Government of Catalonia. There are around 60.000+ international athletes visiting every year and 400-500 sporting events so you'll always see people in shorts. There were quite a few American soccer teams walking around town and even those from Arizona had shorts on.

Ronnyone

As I say it's more a cultural tradition. For instance, the Spanish regard going to the notary in shorts as not the done thing and the same with work. My boss always reminds new employees who are often foreigners that shorts must not be worn at work even in the summer months.

Rosemary

My town hall has today sent out a WhatsApp message to say that agricultural burnings are prohibited. Also warning people to be diligent at all times. This does not normally occur so early in the year.

Rosemary

Moses2013

Even within a country you have different cultural traditions and I don't know anybody who would go to the notary in shorts. I actually always found the dress code in the UK far more strict and worked in several countries.
It often has a lot to do with the manager, the sector you work in and I remember back in the UK that we had dress-down Fridays. Even there it was forbidden to wear shorts, t-shirts with any ironic slogans and of course football jerseys. I had the opposite in Germany and once applied for a position as Game Tester at Nintendo and was invited for an interview. The interviewer had green hair, ripped jeans, band t-shirt on and stared at me coming in my finest shirt and trousers. I knew I could forget the job and it was over once I entered the room. You are right Rosemary and off topic, but there's hardly anything happening in the forum these days.

bobd22

Given the risk of fires here it surprises me how careless Spaniards can be discarding lit cigarettes. I say this as a non smoker . You often see them just flick the lit butt away or out of a car window. You would think it would be ingrained in them to be careful but it doesn't seem that way . If this early dry spell continues there will be serious water issues along with fires this year. I noticed yesterday that the Campo land looks more like it does early June rather than March this year.

Moses2013

Discarding cigarettes is a huge problem and unfortunately not just the Spaniards. I always drive past Toulouse into Spain and they have signs along the motorway warning people to not throw cigarettes out the window and every year I pass more fires seem to happen (Article from 2021 confirms this). Of course it's not just the French and plenty of other nationalities (truckers etc.). Littering is another problem and plenty admitted to throwing litter out the window.
https://www.thelocal.fr/20210802/why...eir-car-window
Throwing cigarette butts out the car window is a particularly pernicious practice. Earlier this month, a forest fire ravaged 850 hectares (2,100 acres) of woodland in the Aude département in the south of France. Local authorities said it was "unfortunately very likely it was a cigarette butt" that caused the fire, which began near the A61 motorway.

bobd22

Sorry I didn't meant to say it was solely Spanish carelessly discarding lit cigarette butts as you say other nationalities are also responsible for doing the same. It is more that. I am surprised that Spaniards can be so careless given they grow up knowing the inherent risk of fire. I

bobd22

I suppose there is still time for some big storms to improve the water situation . Mind I am currently at Algarrobo Costa and the local council are putting new sand at the beach, so they must think winter is behind them. If not one big storm could was away the new sand and it must cost quite a bit to replace.

bob_day

Couple of years ago as we went to bed my wife thought she could smell smoke. Stuck my head out of the door to see a wall of orange flame not many metres from our house. Fire brigade and guardian attended to put it out. It was that close to the house that I was standing on the edge of the pool throwing buckets of water on the flames. The cause, some b****** flicked a cigarette out of his window on the road below.