Spain was by far the most affected EU country in 2012 (with a burned area of 209 855 ha, its worst year since 1994), followed by Italy (130,814 ha) and Portugal (110,231 ha). According to EFFIS estimates, about 37% of the burned EU area was located in the protected areas of the Natura2000 network. The Balkan non-EU countries were also severely affected, especially Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania and Montenegro, with a total burned area mapped by EFFIS of 225,583 ha, as well as North Africa, especially Algeria, with a total burned area mapped by EFFIS of 228,380 ha.

The forest fire situation in Europe and the Mediterranean basin is constantly monitored by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), a system developed and run by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in collaboration with the Directorate General for Environment (DG ENV) and the Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (DG ECHO). EFFIS delivers updated and reliable information on wild land fires in Europe, the Middle East and North African countries, supporting forest fire prevention and fire-fighting services in European countries, the European Commission’s Emergency Response Centre (ECHO ERC, based in Brussels), and other organisations in the field. EFFIS provides fire danger forecast up to six days in advance, and monitors and maps fires to provide near-real time estimates of fire damages across Europe and the Mediterranean.

The report may be downloaded from the JRC website.