French environmental historian Grégory Quenet links recent European wildfires to climate change, lost land management practices, and flawed policies.
Forest fires linked to climate and history
Grégory Quenet, a professor of environmental history and co-director of the Environmental Humanities Department at the Collège des Bernardins, analyzed the recent severe forest fires in France and Europe. He connected their intensity to both climate change and long-term structural factors, such as land use and management practices.Historical factors contribute to fire risk
Quenet explained that this summer's fires are the most severe in recorded history, resulting from changes over the past 150 years. A major cause is the absence of controlled burns, which indigenous and European communities once used to manage land, leading to a buildup of flammable materials in forests.Modern land use increases fire danger
Another factor is the decline in agricultural activity since 1945 and the expansion of residential areas in fire-prone regions. Insurance policies that reward rebuilding after fires have further encouraged development in these areas, increasing vulnerability to wildfires.Forest transformation and management challenges
French forests have changed significantly since the modern era, with reforestation, shifts in wood use, and altered ownership structures. Despite the high social and political value of forests, Quenet said there is a lack of a true "culture of the forest," with limited public awareness and ineffective state management of forest resources.Private forests face higher risk
Quenet noted that private forests are more vulnerable to fires than public ones, due to poor maintenance and low ecological diversity. He criticized the term "megafire" for focusing on scale rather than human impact, and referenced the film Paradis to highlight the need for community preparedness and adaptation.Effective fire prevention is possible
Quenet’s research on the Los Angeles fires, based on studies at the Getty Center, showed that fire prevention can be achieved with focused efforts on vegetation management and infrastructure preparedness, without requiring excessive resources.
