Portugal: A forest fire destroyed 10,000 hectares in a protected area

Since last Saturday, a forest fire has destroyed nearly 10,000 hectares of vegetation in the Serra da Estrela Natural Park, located in central Portugal. Fire mobilized about 1,500 firefighters.

It is still a tentative estimate. A forest fire still mobilizing some 1,500 firefighters as of Thursday had destroyed about 10,000 hectares of vegetation in the mountainous area of ​​the Serra da Estrela Natural Park in central Portugal. This World Geopark was designated by UNESCO in 2020.

Since Saturday many of the slopes of the surrounding mountains have been engulfed in flames, now covered with charred pines.

Authorities said the fire caused 11 minor injuries among the firefighters. A camp site and river beach were evacuated on Wednesday, causing 26 people to be temporarily displaced from their homes and two other homes damaged.

Criticism of civil protection

Since the fire started, many residents have severely criticized the Civil Protection leadership for not being able to prevent the flames from spreading to the highest mountain in Portuguese territory, which rises to about 2,000 metres.

The mayor of Manteigas, Flavio Massano, has also criticized the rescue services, accusing them of focusing their efforts on protecting the areas through which this weekend’s cycling tour of Portugal passed, at the expense of the forest.

In a press release, the Ministry of Interior acknowledged the need to analyze the operations department.

“abandon the forests”

The biodiversity of the Serra da Estrela Natural Park is the “first victim” of these fires, and Quercus lamented to the Environmental Defense Association, considering that these fires are in particular the result of the “abandonment of forests”.

Portugal, which is experiencing exceptionally dry weather this year, experienced its hottest July in nearly a century, according to the National Institute of Meteorology.

Since the beginning of the year, smoke has already been released from 74,000 hectares, according to the latest estimates from the Institute for Nature and Forest Conservation (ICNF).