Estimation of Fire Suppression Costs: A Case Study for a Limia Forest District

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Published: 18-03-2015

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María Cristina Vázquez Vázquez
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela
Spain
Biography
María Luisa Chas-Amil
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela
Spain
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7605-0424
Julia María Touza Montero
Universidade de lVigo
Biography
Vol 23 No 1 (2014), Articles
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15304/rge.23.1.2459
Submitted: 18-03-2015 Accepted: 18-03-2015 Published: 18-03-2015
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Abstract

In Galicia, wildfires destroy thousands of hectares of forest each year, and most of them are set intentionally. This paper develops a descriptive study of the fires during the period 1999-2008 in the District XV-A Limia, and estimates the economic costs of extinction operations. Data is derived from wildfire reports corresponding to the 6.383 fires that occurred in this district during the studied period. Two assessment scenarios were designed to estimate the value of human and materials resources to fight against fires. Our estimates show an average annual cost of extinction per hectare of forest land ranging between € 5.3 and € 6.4.

Keywords:

Forest fires, Forest-suppression activities, Cost of fir-suppression
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References

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