Causality of forest fires in Pinar del Río, Cuba (1975-2018)

Abstract

Understanding the evolution of the causes of fires allows for objective prevention work. This research aimed to analyzing the causality of forest fires in Pinar del Río, Cuba (1975-2018). The analyzes were carried out considering sub-periods, months of the year and affected vegetation. In the period, 2896 fires occurred and 51 217.75 hectares were burned. The fires originated by anthropogenic causes, mainly negligence, showed an increasing trend over time, contrary to what happened in the case of lightnings. This evolution determined that the fire season changed from March to June in the 1975- 1985 sub-period to occur from March to May in the 2008-2018 sub-period. However, the time when more fires occur for each individual cause did not change during the 44 years analyzed. These results will make it possible to improve the forest fire prevention work.