Fewer fires on the islands despite high temperatures

The fire campaign began on May 1 and closed this Wednesday with 15.86 hectares burned in 60 incidents. The Regional Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and the Environment, Joan Simonet, gave a positive assessment of the campaign, stating that despite record temperatures recorded throughout Spain in 2025, the islands maintained "excellent results in terms of the number of fires and the area affected."

The 15.86 hectares burned from May 1 to October 15 represent 97% of the annual total. Mallorca accounted for 60% of the affected area, followed by Menorca (21%), Ibiza (18%), and Formentera (1%). 30 fires were recorded in Mallorca, 15 in Ibiza, eight in Menorca, and seven in Formentera. Simonet explained that from January 1 to October 15, 75 fires occurred, burning 16.28 hectares, a figure below the average for the last decade (88 hectares).

The regional minister considered that the Balearic Islands, in terms of fires, have had "a good year" and compared it to the forest disasters that occurred in other autonomous communities such as Castile and León. He added that since January 1, 75 fires occurred in the Balearic Islands, although he emphasized that 97 percent of the burned area caught fire during the fire season (from May to October). He also noted that only one fire, in Sant Antoni de Portmany, reached IGP-1 level due to its proximity to an inhabited area. He also indicated that 96 percent of the fires were of human origin, due to negligence, accidents, or intentional acts, while the remaining 4 percent were caused by lightning.

Simonet acknowledged that the credit belongs to the 350 personnel divided between forest firefighters from Ibanat, environmental agents, technicians, and emergency personnel, in addition to the fire departments of all the islands, Civil Protection, 112, local police and the Emer Operational Unit. For his part, the manager of Ibanat (Balearic Institute of Nature), Tomeu Llabrés, recalled that the Islands have been one of the first autonomous communities to implement Law 4/2024 on Forest Firefighters, a law "that responds to a historical demand of the sector and that represents a recognition of rights for our workers, who have been given it."