As people fight the summer heat, members of the Civil Protection Department have another battle on their hands.

The summer season is also the season for wildfires. And climate change has only made the situation worse as vegetation dries faster, making it more susceptible to burning, says CPD director Peter Paul Coleiro.

“Grass fires or wildfires are very seasonal and usually start in about May and reach their peak in June, continuing until September or the first rains,” he said.

Firefighters respond to over a thousand wildfires a year and most of them take place in summer, he added.

The Civil Protection Department were busy on Friday evening dealing with two major fires that blazed into the night and early hours of Saturday.   

One fire erupted on a ship in Marsa. The other was a grass fire in Wied Fulija, which burnt two football pitches worth of grass. 

But most wildfires worldwide start because of human activity, even if not intentionally, Coleiro said.

Do not leave glass bottles behind as they can magnify the sun’s rays and start a fire

Here are the department’s tips to avoid starting a fire:

• Do not throw cigarette butts in the countryside, especially when driving;

• Don’t drive over vegetation;

• Do not leave glass bottles behind as they can magnify the sun’s rays and start a fire;

• Do not cook on or near vegetation when barbecuing;

• Do not start fires in the countryside.

If you have a country house, a workplace or a field in the countryside, some measures can be taken to stop wildfires from spreading to your property, Coleiro said.

• Keep the boundary of your property free of vegetation to stop fire from moving from a rural area into a home or industrial site;

• Keep combustible material like pallets away from the edges of your property;

• If you have a field or garden, keep the ground wet by irrigating it often.