Abstract
The spatial and temporal behavior of the occurrence of forest fires in Chile was evaluated in the presence of COVID-19 and mobility restrictions. The fire period from 2015–2016 to 2020–2021 was considered and statistics on mobility restrictions were granted by the Government of Chile. The analysis was developed at different scales of geographic perception. At the national and regional levels, the global behavior of the occurrence was determined, and later at the communal level, the political territorial unit, to determine internal variations attributable to the mobility dynamics in the quarantine period. In the process, the meteorological background of the fire activity was also considered. The results indicate that it is possible to rule out a meteorological effect, based on the variation of the moisture content of fine fuel. There was also no statistical association between the humidity of the fuel and the variation in the occurrence of fires. It is concluded that the communes that presented the greatest mobility of people before the pandemic were those that obtained the greatest reduction in fires. The variation in mobility, the product of restriction measures, is a statistical predictor of the increase or decrease in fires.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened millions of human lives and devastated social and economic conditions globally [1]
A study carried out in Colombia [6] concluded that the restriction measures affecting the mobility of the population and its confinement as protection measures against contagion by COVID-19 have a direct impact on the number of fires and their extension
Another study developed in Nepal [7] indicates that COVID-19 caused a decrease of 4.54% in the number of forest fires and a reduction of 11.36% in radiative power generated by the fire associated with these events
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened millions of human lives and devastated social and economic conditions globally [1]. The effects have even been transferred to the environment, including the interaction between confinement and air quality dependent on various environmental activities and events, including forest fires In this last context, the impact of forest fires on human health has been widely studied from the point of view of gas emissions resulting from the combustion of vegetation. A study carried out in Colombia [6] concluded that the restriction measures affecting the mobility of the population and its confinement as protection measures against contagion by COVID-19 have a direct impact on the number of fires and their extension This same study indicates that the increase in the number of fires was produced by the lack of control and surveillance in areas prone to activities. The estimates from this study showed that districts with smaller areas of forest managed by local communities experienced an 8.11% decrease in the number of fires
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