Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Residents of Albergaria-a-Velha tell of the fear and losses brought by a blaze that evoked memories of 2017 disaster The fires are out in Albergaria-a-Velha now their embers washed away by the heavy rain But their reek still carries on the damp air If the numbers offer a glimpse of the toll that last week’s wildfires took on this northern Portuguese municipality – four people dead 25,269 hectares burned and 81 homes damaged – they cannot convey the sense of fear and loss that the 26-metre-high flames brought with them Maria João Aleluia’s destroyed home on the outskirts of Albergaria-a-Velha Photograph: Gonçalo Fonseca/The GuardianMaria João Aleluia isn’t sure how to articulate how she feels as she stands in front of the house her grandfather built on the outskirts of town in the 1950s and which she has loved since she was a child A structural engineer will determine the extent of the damage but even an untrained eye can take in the collapsed roof the fire-cracked windows and the blackened walls “I’ll be sick about all this in two months but right now I have too much to do to be able to cry,” says the consumer psychology consultant Unable to get to the house after the fires reached the area on 16 September Aleluia asked neighbours to send her the photos that confirmed her fears When she managed to reach the house two days later she brought big bottles of water with her in the hope that dousing the trees’ roots would save them already a veteran of far too many wildfires Victor Manuel dos Santos in his burnt-out garage on the outskirts of Albergaria-a-Velha Photograph: Gonçalo Fonseca/The GuardianA little farther into town close to a pair of burnt-out Minis and a Nissan whose bonnet and bumper have half-melted to reveal the skeletal engine beneath Victor Manuel dos Santos was also counting the damage and giving thanks for the smoke alarm he’d bought in Lidl The detector’s beeping woke him early on Monday morning and he opened his eyes to see flames at his windowsill “It must have been six or seven AM but it was so dark with smoke that I thought that it was night,” he says A sea of fire had come across the field next door that was so covered with brambles that it looked like the Amazon jungle.” gas mask and goggles he keeps near his bed and set about fighting the fire which had already found its way into the neighbouring storeroom where he kept his papers “I put on some gloves and grabbed a shovel and threw everything that was burning out into the garden,” he says as he stands amid his charred loquat and citrus trees his twisted bike and the melted remains of bottles If the smoke alarm – “a blessed investment” – hadn’t gone off Last week’s fires, which were fuelled by strong winds, dry conditions and unseasonably hot temperatures of more than 30C (85F), killed nine people, injured dozens more and burned 100,000 hectares of land across northern and central Portugal They have also brought back memories of the calamitous blazes of 2017, which claimed 66 lives, and serve as yet another reminder of the impact of the climate emergency in Europe An image captured by João Oliveira the head of the civil protection agency in Albergaria-a-Velha Photograph: Gonçalo Fonseca/The GuardianJoão Oliveira who leads the civil protection agency in Albergaria sums up the past few days in two words: “Absolute chaos.” When asked how the fire compared with previous ones We’re used to having these cyclical fires here every 10 years or so … but the amount of energy the fire created the amount of damage it did and the intensity and violence of the fire were something we’d never seen before.” is that the lessons of 2017 appear to have been learned People in the area followed the safe villages plan introduced in the wake of the tragedy seven years ago which teaches residents to practise emergency drills and seek shelter in a designated local building That way the roads are kept clear and people are not burned as they try to flee in their cars João Oliveira Photograph: Gonçalo Fonseca/The GuardianThe state Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests also believes people are better informed than they were seven years ago “Every municipality has its own fire protection plan and new ones were also approved for the regional and sub-regional levels,” says a spokesperson “There are several projects intended to diversify land use and forest occupation namely around villages and towns in forested areas.” Free weekly newsletterThe most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment Experts agree that land use and forest management are absolutely essential to Portugal’s efforts to contain future fires who teaches forest and wildlife conservation at the University of Lisbon points out how much the landscape has changed over the past few decades Mixed land use – crop cultivation and animal grazing – have given way to enormous forests of eucalyptus a tree prized for its rapid growth and use in the paper and cellulose industries the land can become choked with vegetation from small eucalyptus growers unable to afford the costly task of keeping their land clear of the biomass that fuels the fires “Sometimes people aren’t aware that forest fires are symptoms of some very structural causes that are down to socioeconomic reasons,” he says “We need financial support so people can keep their vegetation at low levels but we also need to find completely novel land-use systems such as the mosaic approach that you see in some areas.” Trees charred by the blaze near Albergaria-a-Velha Photograph: Gonçalo Fonseca/The GuardianDomingos Viegas a fire researcher and professor at the University of Coimbra argues that it’s too easy to blame everything on the proliferation of eucalyptus trees “I’m not very sympathetic when it comes to eucalyptus but I’m also not against it,” he says “It’s one of the most widespread species in the country so it’s logical that many fires will burn eucalyptus … But there’s a great difference in eucalyptus plantations across the country between those that are well managed and those that are not.” So how can Portugal best prepare itself for the fires of the years to come “We can organise the system better so that we’re better prepared but that’s not an issue of having more planes and more fire trucks and all that,” he says creating a mixture of agriculture and forestry land so you have mosaics rather than continuous extensions of monoculture that support fires without stopping.” Victor Manuel dos Santos concedes he panicked a bit when the flames were licking at his window But he is also ready for the fires that the future will inevitably bring I’ll tell death he’s late because I’ve lived a lot.” is also already planning for the next huge fire will spring from the charred trees and vegetation that now dot the municipality “These extreme fires are becoming more common,” he says “I think the next one will come in 2032 because no one will want all the burnt firewood that’s on the hills and that will lead to further abandonment of the land the temperatures will continue to increase and there will be more and more fuel for the fires to burn.” You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Portugal is currently battling severe wildfires exacerbated by arid conditions in September Luís Montenegro declared the state of calamity The wildfires have caused significant death and destruction particularly in the northern and central regions of the country with temperatures in some areas exceeding 30°C (86°F) Fires are under investigation on suspicion of criminal origin The districts of northern and central Portugal have been worst affected namely its municipality of Albergaria-a-Velha the blazes have consumed over 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) The situation could worsen due to the dry conditions and wind gusts of up to 43 mph.  Over 50 fires have spread through these regions have been deployed to control the numerous fires forcing an unknown number of residents to evacuate Images from the affected areas show homes reduced to ashes and smoke blanketing the terrain that the country will face “some very difficult times over the next few days.” Authorities have shut down roads and highways and schools in central Portugal have been closed authorities acknowledged the complex situation and called for additional support The European Union has responded by sending eight firefighting planes to aid in combating the severe blazes and Morocco have pledged to assist Portugal during this crisis prolonging an alert for fires until Thursday Measures such as banning the use of heavy machinery in farming have been implemented to avoid sparks This year’s fires bring back memories of the devastating 2017 wildfires in Portugal which claimed over 120 lives and burned more than half a million hectares PAJ/Staff/This developing story is being updated LISBON: Portugal asked the EU to send it more fire-fighting planes on Monday as at least 15 blazes raged in central and northern regions including one that burned houses on the outskirts of the town of Albergaria-a-Velha More than 800 firefighters were battling that fire and three others in the northwestern Aveiro district where police shut motorways - including a stretch of the main highway between Lisbon and Porto - and evacuated several villages Authorities said they had deployed eight water-bombing aircraft in that district The government requested eight more aircraft from the European Commission under the EU civil protection mechanism known as RescEU Four are expected to arrive later in the afternoon an Interior Ministry spokesperson told Reuters The situation would likely get worse amid unusually dry conditions for the time of year and wind gusts of up to 70 kph (43 mph) national emergency and civil protection commander Andre Fernandes said He planned to maintain the current special red alert status across mainland Portugal Albergaria-a-Velha Mayor Antonio Loureiro told reporters the fire had burned down four houses and was threatening 20 more as it raged in the industrial and residential perimeter of the town of around 25,000 people officials said 1,500 firefighters were engaged across the country where temperatures topped 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) over the weekend and were expected to stay high into Tuesday Portugal and neighbouring Spain have recorded fewer fires than usual after a rainy start to the year Copyright © 2025. The News International, All Rights Reserved | Contact Us | Authors Albergaria-a-Velha is the first municipality in the district of Aveiro to join the clothing recycling program the town of Albergaria-a-Velha adopted an innovative solution to deal with the disposal of personal protective masks (largely used during the recent Covid-19 pandemic) and clothes Destinated primary to educate younger generations on the importance of circular economy the project started in primary and secondary schools through Zoom sessions to all the classes Specific containers for masks and textiles were placed in the Elementary School the Brotherhood of Mercy of Albergaria-a-Velha and the ASIV - Social Association for the Elderly with Life Every week the masks are collected and processed by ToBeGreen in its waste treatment and valorisation centres The final product resulting from this process will serve as raw material for new products As for the textile exchange and recycling program Albergaria-a-Velha is a member of ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, a global network of more than 2500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Five thousand firefighters struggled Tuesday to contain multiple wildfires raging across northern Portugal that are blamed for causing three deaths and forcing an unknown number of residents to flee their homes. Some 100 fires reported by national authorities stretched the firefighting brigades. Authorities have yet to give figures on how many people have had to evacuate and how many homes have been lost. Portuguese state broadcaster RTP showed images of houses burnt to the ground and smoke billowing over charred terrain in the area of Castro de Aire. One civilian has died from burns and another from cardiac arrest from the fires that broke out over the weekend, according to civil protection authorities. Among the hardest hit areas is the district of Aveiro, south of the northern city of Porto, where a firefighter died from an unspecified illness while on duty. Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said on Monday that the firefighter was “victim of a sudden illness” and offered his condolences to his family, friends and co-workers. Ground units were supported by Portuguese water dumping aircraft. Fellow European Union members Spain, France Italy and Greece have committed to providing eight more planes to help local forces. “The EU stands with Portugal as it battles major wildfires,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a message on X. “I thank France, Greece, Italy and Spain for their rapid reaction. This is EU solidarity at its best.” Still, televised images showed some residents wielding tree branches and buckets of water to try to save their homes from encroaching fires. With no rain to relieve in the situation in sight, national authorities prolonged an alert for fires until Thursday. The measure included a ban on farmers using heavy machinery to harvest crops because of the risk of sparks that could start more fires. The dry and hot conditions behind the outbreaks in Portugal came while downpours caused flooding in central Europe. Portugal was devasted by massive fires in 2017 that killed over 120 people and burned over half a million hectares. 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