Current Event: Portugal

My adventures have taken me to Portugal! My time in Portugal so far has been unexpected, but equally rewarding. A couple days upon my arrival a large wildfire started sixty miles away from Portugal’s capital, Lisbon. I decided to cancel my plans and help with the fire relief.

There are five hundred firefighters battling the fire that broke out near the town of Tomar. They were also accompanied by one hundred firefighting vehicles and three aircrafts. Currently the fire is ninety percent contained, which is great news. On top of that, only one firefighter was left injured, but the land damage was more severe.

Just a couple weeks before, Portugal suffered another wildfire that was much bigger. Due to strong winds and high temperatures, fire blazed through many villages, destroying structures and injuring thirty nine people. Almost two thousand firefighters worked to put out the three combined fires, but it devastated so many villages and villagers. The hot and dry conditions meant that Portugal was more prone to flare ups, which contributed to the fire in August.

There has been a lot of talk about why Portugal is so susceptible to fires. In 2017, 106 people were killed by wildfires, so officials enacted much tougher fire prevention measures. Many say that poor forest management and firefighting techniques, combined with climate change are the main issues. Climate change is causing longer, hotter summers which promotes high fire danger. The large population of people throughout the countryside and the cities also contributes to the likelihood of wildfires.

Wildfires are a yearly summer occurrence in Portugal and they happen all over the country. One of the main issues is that these small fires easily turn into major disasters. This is because most firefighters in Portugal are volunteers and they can easily be overwhelmed by the growing flames. On top of that, Portugal fires are often contained at night and then rekindle by the morning. Experts say that if Portugal used chemical flame retardants like other countries, fire containment would be much easier.

Changing Portugal’s landscape would have a big impact on their fire risks. Experts say that Portugal needs to plant more fire-resistant oak and chestnut, rather than the pine and eucalyptus that spreads through the country. Since paper pulp is one of Portugal’s main industries, they disregard the fire risks to meet the demands. Portugal’s landscape has evolved over time as well. There used to be agriculture that would break up the forest and add some discontinuity. Now, the landscape has changed and the forest stretches for miles and miles. This allows for a wildfire to spread with extreme ease.

With climate change and the environment of Portugal, wildfires are inevitable. That is why its so important that officials in Portugal continue to make strides toward better fire control and prevention, because wildfires can be absolutely devastated to a country and the people that live in it.