Tag Archive for: arsonists

Wildfires

‘Why work to see everything burned?’

‘A person is always thinking,’ says António Barroso from Piódão, who doesn’t want to leave the land where fruit trees used to grow around the house. The fire burned everything, but his house was miraculously spared. ‘The house is all I have and the profit of a lifetime. Except that, I’am a little stubborn,’ he adds with a wry smile.

For more than a month, a practically uncontrollable wave of wildfires has so far consumed more than 270,000 hectares (3% of the Portuguese territory) of rural and forest areas; 65,000 of which have been devastated in the enormous fire, that started in Piódão – in the municipality of Arganil (Coimbra district) – now considered to be the largest wildfire ever in the country.

According to the Institute of Nature and Forest Conservation (ICNF), 34,000 hectares (4,6% of the network of protected areas) with special ecological value have already been burned down this year. Most affected are the Serra da Estrella Natural Park (10,7%), followed by Peneda-Gerês National Park (9,2%). and the Douro International Natural Park (8,4%).

A human drama for the populations that have to face the fires without much help. It is also an environmental disaster – pumping out over 37m tonnes of carbon dioxide, nearly as much as the yearly CO2 emissions of the country – and an economic tragedy, with many millions of euros in losses and a lot of biodiversity destroyed.

And again, Pedrógão Grande was not spared – the municipality known for the highest loss of human lives in a single fire in Portugal’s recent history. In 2017, 66 people died, and lots of homes and businesses were destroyed when wildfires devastated the region. Firefighters, residents and landowners are back in a place that haunts the collective psyche.  

‘We know that large fires foster larger fires in the future. When the vegetation recovers, it grows simultaneously, and will produce an increasingly homogeneous continuum of vegetation – and if there is one thing fires like, it’s this homogeneity, explains Paulo Fernandes, a fire expert and researcher from the University of Trás-os-Montes.

Although the number of deaths – 4 people so far – cannot be compared to 2017, the burned land across the country is, up to now, the largest in the EU!

A great number of fires is believed to be caused by arsonists. Carlos Farinha, deputy national director of the Polícia Judiciária, stated to SIC Notícias, that time in prison should be increased since most of the detainees this year have already been caught in the past for the same crime.

The centre-right government of Luis Montenegro is criticized for the way it has been dealing with the fires. There seems to be a structural discoordination, both on the ground and in commands at the highest level.
The joint opposition parties have asked for a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the fires and demand that Maria Lúcia Amaral, the Minister of Home Affairs, resigns from her position.

Enjoy your week          Aproveite a sua semana      (pic Público/Ptnews)

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Fire

‘Wildfires, the nightmare we have to live with’

Nine people killed – including three firefighters – and more than 170 injured in wildfires ravaging the central and northern regions of the country; in the districts of Aveiro, Porto, Vila Real, Braga, Viseu and Coimbra.

The country’s civil protection service said that last week 54 wildfires were burning nationwide with 5,300 firefighters mobilized. France, Greece, Italy and Spain have sent water-bombing planes through the EU’s mutual assistance program. The fires forced the closure of two railway lines and several motorways, including part of the main road between Lisbon and Porto.

The area burned in mainland Portugal in one week exceeds 135,000 hectares according to the European Earth Observation Service Copernicus, which uses satellite images. In Aveiro alone, the fire consumed more than 10,000 hectares of forest and scrubland in just two days. 

Furthermore, as a result of the fires, carbon emissions (CO2) – used as an indicator to assess the intensity of fires – mounted to 1,9 megatons (million tons) announced Copernicus, the worst value for Portugal in 22 years.

After a wet start this year, Portugal recorded initially 50% fewer wildfires than last year, but extreme temperatures over last weekend amid exceptionally low humidity and strong winds have given rise to blazing fires, despite the government having increased fire-prevention funding by a factor of 10 and doubled its firefighting budget after the deadly wildfires in 2017 claimed 64 lives.

Since the 1st of January, the judicial police detained 42 persons suspected of having set forest fires; 9 of whom are women. Most arsonists act impulsively or when the opportunity arises and is based on emotional suffering (depression, anger, revenge, cognitive deficit) or the excitement of seeing it burn, says Cristina Soeiro, psychologist at the Judicial Police.

Portugal’s prime minister, Luis Montenegro, has said that the people suspected of starting some of the fires would feel the full force of the law, adding that he would ‘spare no effort in repressive action’ when it came to such crimes.

‘Make no mistake. These tragedies are no anomalies but becoming the norm for our shared future’ EU’s crisis management commissioner Janez Lenarčič recently declared in Strasbourg. ‘Europe is the fastest warming continent in the world and particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events.’

The good news for Portugal is that – in the meantime – rain has arrived but a collective approach to tackle the climate breakdown is further away than ever, as long as the world continues burning oil, gas and coal.  

Enjoy the week            Approveite a semana      (pic Público/Sapo)



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