- Category: Space Y News
- 2026-08-05
Scope
Authorities need tools that translate wildfire risk alerts into operationally actionable information, including expected fire perimeters and propagation trajectories, enabling timely preventive measures such as evacuations, infrastructure shutdowns and pre-positioning of firefighting resources.
Space-enabled solution
The Belenos FirePredict Geoportal, currently developed by INECO, is a predictive wildfire modelling platform with a 7-day forecasting horizon. It produces wildfire probability, severity and 2D propagation maps, supporting anticipatory decision-making for emergency managers and critical infrastructure operators.
The service integrates Copernicus Earth Observation data and atmospheric inputs with a Fire Behaviour Prediction engine calibrated to Spanish environmental conditions. Unlike static risk viewers, Belenos simulates fire propagation dynamics, enabling scenario-based analysis and pre-emptive deployment of response resources before ignition or during early development stages.
EU space assets used
- Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)
Added value
Belenos is expected to support earlier operational anticipation of wildfire events, enabling preventive deployment of firefighting resources and targeted protection of critical infrastructure, including railway lines, road networks and power grids, before fire onset or during early propagation phases.
It is also expected to provide legal and technical certainty for decision-makers through formally verifiable modelling outputs, supporting justified emergency measures such as evacuations or infrastructure shutdowns. Once validated in El Bierzo (Spain), the platform is intended to be scalable across Spain and other Mediterranean-climate regions.
Policy takeaways
Belenos demonstrates how EU space-enabled predictive services can support a shift from reactive response to proactive civil protection and resilience management. To maximise impact, the EU should:
- support the operational deployment of Earth Observation-based predictive wildfire tools within civil protection authorities;
- strengthen Earth Observation and atmospheric monitoring capabilities where operational requirements demand higher resolution, faster revisit times and improved responsiveness;
- use procurement and deployment mechanisms to accelerate the scaling and uptake of predictive wildfire services across Member States.
To know more visit the INECO website at : https://www.ineco.com/ineco/en
