Wildfires in Portugal Are Exhausting

The fire in Póvoa de São Cosme, Ervedal, near my home on September 19 (Photo by Paulo Novais/Lusa)

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At this moment, a wildfire in Serra de Estrela in the Central region has been raging for four hours, a fire in the North in Vila Real District for the same length of time, and one in the South in Faro, which began a day ago.

In the first fire at Mangualde da Serra, Gouveia Municipality, in Guarda District, 211 firefighters, 57 ground vehicles and six planes are fighting the monster. In the second at Santo André, Montalegre, Vila Real District, 166 firefighters, 51 vehicles and two planes are in the fight. And in the third, at Bordeira, Aljezur, Faro District, there are 549 firefighters, 195 vehicles and seven planes in the fray.

Note that there are fires in the North, Central and South regions of Portugal. Note that summer ended today on the 22nd of September.

Note that vigilance, which authorities ask understandably, is exhausting to all.

I live in the foothills of the Serra da Estrela in Oliveira do Hospital Municipality. Days ago, on Friday, September 19, beginning about 13:30, fire-fighting planes flew over me as I watched the rise of white, gray and black plumes of smoke in the nearby village of Póvoa de São Cosme, in the Union of Parishes of Ervedal and Vila Franca de Beira, which spread to Nelas Municipality. At one point, there were 334 firefighters, 92 fire engines and eight planes joined the fight.

Great Fire of October 2017

As we watched from the top of a hill outside my house, a neighbor said that she cannot sleep, remembering the horror of the Great Fire of October 15, 2017, when our village was encircled by fires, 97 percent of the municipality burned and 50 people lost their lives.

Furious winds of Hurricane Ophelia had howled into the region, which had been praying for rain. That night, my 14-year-old son and I stared into the large red mouths of six fires rushing in columns across our neighbors’ land toward us. We turned and ran for our lives in the opposite directions.

We got into our car and drove to the village entrance. Fire engulfed the road on the left from Ervedal da Beira and on the right from Carregal do Sal. I turned right for a very short way. Thick smoke, my son’s warning and memories of the photographs of burned-out cars in Pedrógão Grande forced me to turn around.

I drove the car to the stone-paved village square, where we witnessed red embers falling around us. We were trapped in our village. We could not get out, and firefighters could not get in. The car, sealed to eye-stinging smoke, could not shut out the dragon roar of wind and fire.

We waited for five hours. It felt like 15 minutes.

My son and I were lucky. We survived that hellish night.

The Past Weekend

On Friday, the wind was not blowing our way. Simply put, the wind's direction saved us. The fire was contained that night. No one lost their life.

About four in the morning, I woke up to the smell of smoke because I had cracked my bedroom window. I got up and finished the previous blog while wearing a mask.

My neighbor is not the only one remembering 2017. Anyone who survived that hell is remembering it. Experts warned us that 2025 is similar to 2017 in meteorological terms.

What Now?

As a diversion, I watch disaster movies. Heroes triumph over hurricanes, earthquakes, aliens, even fires. Then, I flip channels to the news, which seems more and more distant, more and more performative, more and more from a parallel universe.

In these scary times, people want to scream and shout and shift blame to someone or something. However, fires are more complicated. There are many factors at work.

Unknown owners, uncleared land and non-native flammable eucalyptus trees contribute to wildfires in Portugal.

Arson is the cause of about half of the fires, but most of the arsonists are mentally ill. Therefore, extending prison sentences will not solve the problem or help them. These arsonists need to be kept at home inside during the fire season, which is growing longer and longer.

The earth is so dry here, it is frightening. High temperatures and lack of rain also are real culprits.

Global warming. How do we fight it?