But out of the ash, a new story began.
: The 2024–2025 period saw at least 20 fatalities among operational personnel and the general population. Why Is This Happening?
They built “fuel breaks”—wide, green corridors of grazing land that could stop a fire in its tracks. They installed water tanks at strategic points and cleaned the brush from the sides of the roads.
O combate ao fogo é essencial, mas especialistas argumentam que o foco deve estar na prevenção. Portugal precisa de repensar o seu modelo florestal. A monocultura de eucalipto e pinheiro aumenta a carga de combustível. A solução passa por uma floresta mais diversificada, com espécies menos inflamáveis (como o sobreiro ou a azinheira), e pela fixação das populações no interior, uma vez que o despovoamento rural dificulta a gestão ativa da floresta e a vigilância. incêndios em portugal
The next morning, the world was monochrome. Black earth, black trees like skeletal fingers, a grey sky choked with ash. Joaquim walked back to his land. His house was a shell. His olive trees, planted by his father in 1945, were blackened poles. The only thing standing was the old stone well.
A vulnerabilidade do país ficou marcada por duas realidades distintas na história recente:
Portugal é, devido à sua geografia, clima e características socioeconômicas, um dos países europeus mais vulneráveis aos incêndios florestais. Todos os anos, particularmente durante a estação seca (verão), o país enfrenta uma batalha contra as chamas que coloca em risco vidas humanas, património e o ecossistema. A problemática dos incêndios não é apenas uma questão de combate ativo, mas um desafio complexo de gestão territorial, ordenamento florestal e mudanças climáticas. But out of the ash, a new story began
Five years later, Joaquim, now 65, walks the same path. The new saplings are waist-high. The cork oaks are starting to regenerate their bark. His new house is made of stone and rammed earth, with a roof of red tiles. It sits behind a low, fire-resistant wall.
That was the turning point. The Incêndios Florestais of 2017 were not just a fire; they were a national trauma. Over 100 people died, and thousands were left homeless. The world saw the statistics. But Portugal felt the grief.
Joaquim picked up a piece of melted glass that had once been a window. “The forest is a phoenix,” he said quietly. “It burns, and it comes back. But the people… the people are not eucalyptus.” Portugal precisa de repensar o seu modelo florestal
One evening, as the autumn rain finally begins to fall, washing the last of the soot from the air, he sits on his porch. The sky is a soft, wet blue. In the distance, he sees a young family—tourists from Germany—walking along a clean, clear trail. They stop to look at a sign that explains the fire of 2017, the lives lost, and the rebirth.
: There were 6,255 rural fires burning roughly 137,651 hectares. While ignitions were at a historical low, the burned area was the third highest since 2014.
A história recente de Portugal está marcada por anos trágicos que serviram de ponto de viragem para as políticas de defesa da floresta:
Catarina, an architect who had been living in Lisbon, moved back. She helped lead a community effort. They didn’t just rebuild houses; they rebuilt the landscape . They cleared the invasive eucalyptus—the highly flammable, water-hungry trees that had turned the forest into a tinderbox. They replanted native cork oaks and chestnut trees, which hold moisture and resist fire.
Historicamente, o uso do fogo em Portugal estava associado a práticas agropastoris tradicionais e controladas. Contudo, a partir da segunda metade do século XX, o paradigma alterou-se drasticamente devido ao . O abandono das terras agrícolas permitiu a acumulação contínua de biomassa, convertendo antigos campos cultivados em mato e floresta contínua sem gestão.