Our forests, places of peace and sanctuary（避难所）, and important regulators（ 调整者） of our climate. But this key habitat faces a growing threat from increasingly frequent devastating forest fires. "We've been seeing the effects of climate change for years now in Germany too. This year's fires were catastrophic（灾难的） and we can expect a repeat." The problem is exacerbated（恶化） by rising temperatures, aridity（干旱）, and drought. Firefighters are squaring up to new challenges. "The issue of fighting forest fires and wildfires has been neglected（忽视） for a long time. It's been a minor part of firefighters' training programs."

  But now many firefighters are having a rethink, throwing their weight behind new strategies and old know-how. "We need to be changing the landscape, investing much more in prevention（预防）. It's our goal to completely recover the forest." Protecting our forests has never been more urgent. Can we save them? Showing the fire who's boss. That's the job of these firefighters in a coniferous（结球果的） forest on the Canary Islands.

  One of them is Tobias Hallas, a manager with ATFIRE, a German disaster management NGO. Forest fires are one of the organization's specializations（专门化）. "We're here on Gran Canaria, getting ready for the controlled burn that's going to happen here on the mountain. And we're putting on our protective（保护的） gear（齿轮）. After another briefing, we'll be off." Hallas is joined by 18 other participants from four countries. "The technique they're learning today may sound crazy at first. They're setting fire to the forest as a protective measure.

  Heat and drought mean Gran Canaria's pine forests are dry as a bone. They can go up in flames at any time. The prescribed burns are a tried and tested prevention method here. Firefighter Anna Tortoza-Molina has been running courses for years. "For a long time, we just focused on putting out the fire, fighting the fire. And at some point, we realized that you can't fight the fire. You've got to work（使工作） with it."

  And that means tough physical work. Removing brush, creating firebreaks. The firefighters are from the UK, Poland, Germany and Spain. Tobias Hallas is a volunteer forest firefighter. In regular life, he's a paramedic. Like many of the others, he's paid the course fee out of his own pocket, 1,500 euros.

  "We're doing it alongside our main jobs, giving it our heart and soul. Now we're also carrying out prescribed burns of increasingly large areas in Germany. And we're applying exactly what we've learned here. So I reckon it's money well spent and most of all, time well invested." Prescribed burning is already common practice in many places, including the US, Australia and Southern Europe. And now it's playing an increasingly crucial role further north. "We've been seeing the effects of climate change for years now in Germany too. This year's fires were catastrophic and we can expect a repeat."

  These exercises are being organized by the Spanish Pal Costa Foundation. The international organization specializes in forest fire management and prevention. "I'll be in position three, tie in one, Tobias two, and the last one behind me." After the arduous（费劲的） preparation, the fires are now lit. Participants start small fires with special canisters. The flames quickly rip（撕） through dry needles, brush and branches.

  "The area we're burning now won't burn during the next vegetation（[植]植被） phases. It'll all be nice and green for the next few years." Each fire emits climate killer CO2 into the atmosphere. But the controlled burning encourages the growth of new grasses, bushes and trees. They bind（捆绑） the previously emitted volume of CO2, making（使） for a closed cycle. Through their efforts, Halas and the other volunteers are clearing forest debris（碎片） and preventing the spread of a blaze that could jump to the trees. This approach to forest fire prevention is widely practiced in southern Europe.

  But firefighters in northern Europe need more experience. Pal Costa Foundation co-founder Juan Carmano is working to bridge that gap. "Southern Mediterranean countries, we have been suffering fires for many years. But now it's something new to many northern European countries. So the network is everything because it's the way that we can exchange that experience and knowledge." The Gran Canaria exercise was tough, but instructive（ 传授知识的）. "It was a positive experience. We want to get people in Germany more familiar with the idea of tactical（战术的） fires, as well as showing that fire doesn't always have to be a bad thing."

  The Add Fire Association has demonstrated the importance of methods like these several times, like in 2022 in the eastern German state of Saxony. As the wildfire raged（ 狂怒）, specialists were called in to help. "You can see how the humus underneath has completely burned out, leaving the entire area open. It will continue to slowly smolder and gradually disintegrate（(使)分解）." The team of volunteers battles the ground fire with hose（软管） and shovels（铲）. Alexander Mayer is in charge. "Anything brown has to go, it's all humus and it's burning and smoldering."

  Just like on Gran Canaria, they use brakes to keep the flames in check and carry out prescribed burns in the woods. This prevents the fire from devouring（(尤指动物)吞吃） any more of the ground. "It's exhausting but it's working. The entire area up to there is completely secured by an exposed strip（条带） of soil. That'll slow things down." Add Fire now has about 500 members. The association was founded 20 years ago to help Southern European fire crews during peak（山顶） wildfire season.

  The know-how gained on these missions is turning out to be useful back home. Germany's wildfire risk has been steadily rising since the 1970s. In recent years, more hot and dry periods have further increased the chance of forest fires. But until recently, local fire services have been focusing on other kinds of emergencies. "A traffic accident and apartment fire requires different protective equipment than if I'm out in the woods. It's obvious from my clothing. It's all thin and a single layer, but still fireproof.

  So that you can work eight hours or a whole day in the blazing sunshine. The issue of fighting forest fires and wildfires has been neglected for a long time. It's been a minor part of firefighters' training." One of the goals of Add Fire is to plug（塞） these knowledge gaps. That's why they're passing on know-how gathered abroad to firefighting colleagues in Germany. On the outskirts of Ebberswalde in Brandenburg, two men are devising（设计） ways to save our forests.

  Engineer Karsten Brinkschulte and forestry scientist Jurgen Müller are going the high-tech route. "So we've got our hot plate here. Now we're going to load it with the material." They've prepared a special experiment in their own lab. "We're simulating（模拟） a forest fire which emits the same gases that would be released in a real blaze. It's still just a very small fire, like a cigarette on the forest floor." But the other end is a device that could turn out to be something of a revolution — senses that learn how to sniff out a forest fire in its very early stages. "These sensors（传感器） sniff, smell the smoke, and register that smell. And the next time, they're able to detect an incipient（初始的） fire."

  They call their device an electronic nose. Software reveals whether the smoldering fire has been detected.