With the onset of this year’s cereal harvest and air temperatures soaring to new June records, fields across the region have become dangerously flammable. Overheated combine harvesters, operating in these extreme conditions, frequently ignite the brittle stubble left behind after harvest. These fires can spread with alarming speed across dry farmland, sometimes consuming entire fields in minutes. Although such fires often extinguish themselves once the stubble is gone, they pose a serious secondary threat: flying embers can easily land in nearby forests, where dry undergrowth and dense vegetation offer abundant fuel. In these cases, a small, routine harvest fire can quickly escalate into a fast-moving forest blaze with devastating consequences.
