Forest fire: National Platform for Natural Hazards

Forest fires pose a threat to every region in Switzerland

Forest fires are defined as uncontrolled fires in forests, which are mostly caused by humans. The southern side of the Alps has been more severely affected by forest fires in the past, although the risk of forest fires has also increased in the rest of Switzerland in recent years. As a result of climate change, more frequent periods of heat and drought are expected throughout Switzerland in the future, which will further increase the risk of forest fires.

Forest fires can endanger people and animals and destroy buildings, infrastructure and cultural assets. In Switzerland, however, they are more often a threat to the protective function of the forest. When forest fires destroy protective forests, entire villages or roads are sometimes no longer safe. Large fires can lead to further natural hazards, impair the utilisation and services of the forest and change the landscape.

BAFU Fact sheet “forest fire”

Most forest fires are caused by humans

Systematic recording

In cooperation with the cantons, the federal government warns the authorities and the population about forest fires.

Warnings and systematic recording

In cooperation with the cantons, the federal government warns the authorities and the population of forest fires. All forest fires in Switzerland have been systematically recorded since 2008. On behalf of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) maintains a forest fire database with over 10,000 incidents to date.

Effective measures

The federal government makes personal recommendations on how individuals should behave before, during and after a forest fire. The cantons on the northern side of the Alps benefit from the experience of the southern cantons and are preparing for an increasing risk of forest fires. In particular, good co-operation between the forestry services and the fire brigades is important. Examples of measures include

Spatial planning measures

Construct buildings and facilities at a sufficient distance from the forest (in accordance with spatial planning legislation)

Technical measures

Optimise water supply in endangered areas, e.g. with optimised forest road access for fire engines, fire water basins, hydrant networks or barriers to prevent water from accumulating
Improve weather, humidity and wind forecasts

Organisational measures

Creating alarm dispositions
Raise awareness to prevent forest fires
Specialise forestry and fire brigade personnel with training and further education on forest fires
Provide prevention measures such as fire brigade patrols or information boards in case of high fire risk

The cantons are developing strategies for dealing with forest fires

Due to the higher risk of forest fires on the southern side of the Alps, the canton of Ticino (German) and canton of Valais (German) have had effective forest fire management systems in place for many years. However, the cantons north of the Alps have also been pushing ahead with the development of forest fire concepts and strategies in recent years, for example Bern (German), Lucerne (German) and Solothurn (German). In addition to prevention and firefighting, these plans focus on the post-fire phase, during which the fire is analyzed, and the forest is restored. On national levels, forest fire prevention was strengthened in 2022 with the introduction of the first forest fire information system (German). Thanks to this system, forest fire risks are assessed in cooperation between the federal government and the cantons based on five risk levels and updated daily.

Chronicle

Devastating forest fires in Switzerland

1943

One of the largest forest fires in Switzerland destroyed around 550 hectares of forest on the Calanda near Chur (GR) on 20 August. The fire raged for three days and nights and over 3600 firefighters were deployed.

Aletschreservation, Waldbrand am Nordhang des Riederhornes, vom Gipfel gesehn

1973

There were 180 forest fires in southern Switzerland - a record for the century. The flames destroyed around 1600 hectares of forest.

1997

An impressive example of the consequences a forest fire can have was seen in Ronco sopra Ascona (TI) in spring. In addition to 100 hectares of forest, at least 200 hectares of protective forest were damaged. When thunderstorms with heavy rain hit a few weeks later, the protective function failed. A mudslide broke loose and caused extensive damage.

2003

One of the largest forest fires in Switzerland broke out on 13/14 August in the protection forest above Leuk (VS). Rising mountain winds caused the fire to spread right up to the tree line. The fire destroyed 300-400 hectares of forest and 260 people were evacuated. The property damage caused by the fire totalled around CHF 7.6 million.

ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Schneider, Reto / Com_LC1609-001-002 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Waldbrand im Wallis auf dem Gebiet von Erschmatt und Leuk

2011

On 26 April, a fire broke out above Visp (VS). Exceptionally dry conditions and strong winds favoured the spread of the fire. The forest fire was quickly brought under control thanks to a large-scale operation by the fire brigade. More than 100 hectares of protective forest were destroyed.

Forest fire management in the canton of Valais and lessons learnt from the Visp fire in 2011 (wsl.ch)

ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Photoramacolor AG / AIC_02-0I-741020-004 / CC BY-SA 4.0

2023

The forest fire above the municipality of Bitsch (VS) destroyed an area of over 100 hectares. The fire meant that the protective function of the forest was partially lost, which is why rockfall can occur more frequently.

Cascade of natural hazards

Natural hazards can sometimes lead to a chain of events. Forest fires primarily destroy protective forests and can play a role in other natural hazards: