When Fire Meets Ice: Iceland’s Unexpected Wildfire Challenge

What if I told you that Iceland, a land known for glaciers, snowstorms, and volcanic fury, is quietly becoming a frontier in wildfire risk? It sounds contradictory. Yet, that’s exactly what we experienced during a two-and-a-half-day FoRISK wildfire workshop held from October 7 to 9, in Selfoss, southern Iceland. This training was hosted by the Icelandic Civil Protection, under the Technical Assistance Financing Facility (TAFF) of the European Commission’s Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO, the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).

Over those days, different Icelandic fire brigades and FoRISK experts worked side by side in the field, in classrooms, and on recently burned terrain, revealing how climate, geology, and human land use are forging a new fire landscape even in “cold” places.

Day 1: Soil, shrubs, fire beaters, and the spark of possibility

We began with field training southwest of Selfoss, near the Ölfusá river’s mouth. The weather cooperated just enough for practical live-fire training and fireline construction, fire behaviour under local climate conditions, using controlled fire as a preventive tool, and organizing crews on complex terrain. The participants, almost 30 fire officers from across Iceland, quickly realized that working together, essentially “thinking as one,” is vital when flames spread fast.

That first day delivered a stark lesson: In wildfire incidents, as in controlled burns, it is important to know how to act in a coordinated manner, and communication between all members of a crew is essential for safe operations and to react and anticipate fire behaviour as it can quickly react to changes in vegetation characteristics, topography and weather conditions. Fireline construction and extinguishing measures must be effective, efficient and safe; any gaps, improvement measures, hazards, etc., must be quickly communicated amongst the team members to maintain a common operational picture and coordinated adaptive response.  It is all a matter of understanding the fire environment and fire behaviour, following discipline and knowing the correct use of tools.

Day 2: Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) fires and real-life cases

Day two opened with classroom sessions on fireline safety, fire environment analysis, and the Campbell Prediction System (CPS), bridging the gap between wildfire science and Iceland’s unique landscape. After lunch, we visited two sites near Lake Apavatn in the municipality of Grímsnes og Grafningshreppur, where recent fires had threatened rural residences.

The site visits focused on two recent blazes. One was a structure fire that occurred during the winter. While the house was situated on a lakeshore, the thick ice made the water unavailable, presenting challenges in quenching the blaze. This example, however, showed the importance of defensible space around the structure, which prevented the structure fire from spreading to the dry, dead vegetation in the strong winds. The second fire started just 200 meters away from a neighbour’s barbecue and began spreading through the forest, immediately threatening several summer homes. In this instance, the fire occurred in the late Spring, but fortunately, it was not fanned by strong winds. Nevertheless, what many might consider a small, low-intensity wildfire, in theory easy to extinguish, became a dangerous and complex scenario: The response time for the closest fire brigade was 30 minutes; there was one narrow road in and out with no turnaround for large vehicles, off of which were approximately 25 occupied summer houses with families and one or more vehicles at each house; dense vegetation up against the homes resulted in an immediate threat. During the response, a fire truck slipped off the road onto its side nearby, meaning the crew had to free themselves before continuing on foot with only the tools they could carry.

This visit brought into sharp focus a number of operational lessons:

• Defensible space matters: vegetation buffers must be rigorously managed to prevent even a small or low-intensity fire from quickly spreading to structures.
• Routes of access and egress are critical: narrow rural lanes can slow down or block responders, and they may become trapped if they cannot turn their vehicles around or their escape route is cut off by the fire. Additionally, limited access/egress can quickly be compromised by clogged roads from evacuating vehicles.
• Team coordination under pressure: crews must operate with precision and shared situational awareness, particularly as even small fires can become dangerous and complex in the wildland urban interface or with sudden escalation in fire behavior
• Communication as a prevention tool: residents must understand that firefighters’ first mission is to protect lives, not property. In the chaos of a wildfire, choices must be strategic: focusing on one burning structure can mean losing the chance to stop the fire’s spread elsewhere, maybe where many more homes are situated.

Day 3: Safety, tactics, and embracing the fire tool

On the final day, we reconvened indoors for deeper dives into fireline safety, tactical decision-making, tool and technique selection, and methods for using fire proactively or as a training opportunity (i.e. prescribed fire). Many participants admitted they had never considered fire as a tool. By noon, the workshop closed with a collective commitment: bring home the techniques and train within each brigade so every region is better prepared for Iceland’s unique wildfire risks and challenges.

Why Iceland’s wildfire risk is real and rising

It may seem counterintuitive, but multiple converging factors make wildfire a growing concern in Iceland. The workshop’s emphasis on local conditions matters precisely because Iceland is not a “blank slate”; it has unique hazards. Here are some of the forces pushing Iceland into new wildfire territory:

1. Changing climate, expanding hazard zones: According to the ThinkHazard platform, Iceland’s wildfire hazard is categorized as medium, meaning there’s between 10% and 50% annual probability of fire-weather conditions capable of supporting hazardous wildfire spread. Modelling suggests that warmer temperatures, more variable rainfall, and longer dry spells will likely expand fire-prone areas and lengthen fire seasons.

2. Lava-ignited fires: Iceland’s volcanic activity introduces an unusual ignition source, a risk more commonly associated with Hawaii. Lava flows from recent eruptions have ignited moss and low vegetation, producing smouldering, persistent fires. In fact, the 2023 Fagradalsfjall eruption triggered what is considered the largest moss fire in Iceland’s recorded history. Even seemingly damp terrain with moss and shrubs can become flammable under the right (or wrong) conditions. The volcanic soils and dense moss cover that define much of Iceland’s landscape pose unique challenges. Once ignited, smouldering fires can persist in deep moss layers or cracks, making suppression difficult.

3. Summer houses in vegetated zones: Iceland is seeing the growth of summer homes and rural residences built in or near areas of natural vegetation. This trend has recently intensified with the popularity and option of the home office. In many cases, WUI regulation is weak or absent, allowing planting and fuel continuity close to houses. The TAFF project brief notes that these dwellings contribute significantly to rising wildfire risk, and with trees intentionally planted close against the houses, promoting the merits of defensible space is largely unpopular and goes against generations of tree planting efforts in some cases, which has become a contemporary cultural practice (reasons include buffering from the wind, and desire for more privacy).

4. Volcanic activity as a wildcard: Since December 2023, Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula has experienced a series of eruptions (the 2023–2025 Sundhnúkur eruptions), disrupting nearby towns and infrastructure. Lava flows have directly ignited fires in adjacent vegetation, and authorities have issued “high alert” wildfire warnings as fissures enlarge. Thus, volcanic and wildfire hazards are now interlinked in Iceland’s evolving risk landscape.

The Value of Training

For FoRISK as a network of experts bringing science-practice knowledge across pan-Europe,  training is at the heart of effective wildfire management. It improves understanding of fire behaviour, enhances strategic planning, and increases both safety and operational effectiveness. A prerequisite for integrated fire risk management is the prevention and mitigation topic. Only when prevention and mitigation work hand in hand with the other elements of fire management can we succeed in learning to live with fire.   In Iceland, where wildfire experience has historically been limited, developing these skills is crucial for resilience. These trainings matter for:

• Strategic planning: Well-trained stakeholders can design proactive fuel management plans, including prescribed burns, to limit high-intensity wildfires before they start.
• Improved fire response: Expertise leads to better on-the-ground tactics such as creating fire breaks, coordinating heavy machinery, and applying modern suppression techniques and international good practice.
• Enhanced safety: Proper training prepares personnel to manage and mitigate dynamic risks, interpret fire behaviour, and use equipment effectively.
• Skill development: Programs and training opportunities for firefighters and fire behaviour analysts pass on scientific knowledge and practical judgment to those on the front lines.
• Efficient use of resources: With expert management, every asset, from aircraft to individual responders, can be effectively placed, even under high stress, to efficiently and safely achieve objectives.

Like many nations, Iceland faces a shortage of specialized wildfire roles and competency profiles such as wildfire analysts and tactical advisors, wildfire aviation specialists, wildfire commanders, etc. While command systems, competencies and qualification schemes vary by country, building this expertise requires sustained investment in mentoring, assessment, and long-term professional development.

Equally important is local knowledge. Effective fire management combines global science with local insight, such as understanding Iceland’s winds, volcanic terrain, and mossy fuels. Training acts as the bridge between these worlds, translating theory into context-specific action.

Luckily, to accomplish this, Iceland has many highly professional, motivated and skilled career and volunteer responders with a track record of managing complex environmental hazards like volcanoes and avalanches.

The Value of Fire Use

Perhaps the most transformative lesson from the workshop was recognizing the power of fire as a teacher. The most effective firefighters are not merely experts in suppression; they are masters of fire behaviour. Prescribed burning offers a controlled classroom where fire practitioners learn by doing.

Over time, they gain an intuitive grasp of how fire ignites, spreads, and reacts. Prescribed fire builds superior firefighters because of:

1. Mastering fuel dynamics: Trainees learn to read moisture levels, fuel load, and how slope and vegetation structure shape fire behaviour.
2. Reading the weather and topography: Conducting burns under specific weather windows teaches how subtle shifts in wind or humidity alter fire intensity. Similarly, prescribed fire can enhance our understanding of the influence of terrain features on fire behaviour and localized weather and climate characteristics.
3. Proactive fire control: Through effective control line establishment and appropriately applying various firing techniques and ignition patterns, practitioners can learn the delicate art of proactive management strategies, including the safe use of tactical and beneficial fire while shifting away from mere reactive approaches.

After years of prescribed burning, taking, for example, the cases from colleagues from around the globe and across Europe, firefighters need no longer react blindly to flames; they see patterns, predict behaviour, and strategise. This evolution transforms them from operator to tactical advisor, a leader who can make informed, life-saving decisions when the heat rises.

What the FoRISK training revealed and what lies ahead

From those three immersive days, several strategic lessons surfaced:

1. Capacity-building and replication are the real legacy: The workshop’s ultimate goal was not just knowledge transfer in three days, but sustained transformation through learning, sharing, networking and collaboration so every regional brigade can replicate and integrate these methods and expand in their wildfire management competencies.
2. Team cohesion and communication are nonnegotiable: In fast-changing fire landscapes, synchronized decision-making and effective communication are critical. Crews must think and act as one, a recurring takeaway in our field drills.
3. Minutes matter: In the Apavatn wildfire, even without wind, the flames spread quickly through the dry vegetation, reaching homes before firefighters got on scene. Those first moments are decisive. Proper buffers and vegetation control can buy precious response time.
4. Terrain and infrastructure are silent threats: The overturned fire truck and narrow rural roads exposed vulnerabilities. Planning for access and egress, pull-outs for passing and turn-around areas for large vehicles is vital in enabling wildfire response.
5. Prescribed fire is not off-limits: Many Icelandic brigades had never used fire proactively. But with training, policy, and ecological calibration, it may become a helpful tool. The most effective firefighters aren’t just experts in suppression; they are first and foremost experts in fire behaviour. This deep, intuitive knowledge of how fire ignites, spreads, and reacts to different environments is the most valuable asset a firefighter can possess. And there is no better, safer, or more thorough way to acquire this expertise than through the consistent, hands-on practice of prescribed burning and live-fire training, applied in other pan-European countries part of the FoRISK network.
6. Local adaptation is essential: The practiced techniques must be adapted to Iceland’s particular hazards, volcanic, rocky soils, terrain, winds,   fuel types, and socio-cultural realities. What works in Mediterranean or boreal systems doesn’t always translate.

A broader reflection: Fire in unexpected places

Iceland’s evolving wildfire narrative carries lessons for any region that considers itself “safe by geography.” Climate change, shifting land uses, and subtle ignition vectors can breach boundaries. As more territories experience warming stress, even previously “cold” ecosystems may face fire dangers like in the Alps, and the Arctic – as explored in a recent special Issue of Wildfire Magazine.

The Iceland case also reminds us that fire risk and water security are intertwined, especially in porous terrain or volcanic landscapes. And in places with active geology like lava flows, fissures, and geothermal heat, the boundaries between wildfire and geohazard blur.

By training local teams, fostering awareness, and embedding proactive methods to prevent wildfires, regions on the edge of fire emergence may gain a fighting chance. Next time, we hope to also train jointly with farmers, foresters, firefighters and other important stakeholders, as collaboration across disciplines is key for achieving wildfire resilience!

Get more info about the call at the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) website and the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) Knowledge Network website. 

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• Tag: collaboration, europe, forest fires, forest risk, iceland, preparedness, prevention, wildfires