Government tallies up aftermath of Europe’s biggest wildfire so far in 2018

Members of the government including Portugal’s president have been in the Algarve to survey the damage caused by last week’s massive Monchique wildfire – the biggest in Europe so far this year – and to assess what support measures need to be brought in to aid recovery.

The European Forest Fire Information System estimates that the wildfire which tore through the southern Algarve region last week burned around 28,000 hectares of land.

It began on Friday 3 August and was extinguished seven days later, having been bravely and tirelessly battled by thousands of firefighters.

The fire began in Monchique and spread to the neighbouring counties of Silves and Portimão, injuring 41 people, one of whom, an elderly woman, remains in a

serious condition in a Lisbon hospital.

Government assesses fire damage

Government officials have meanwhile travelled to the Algarve to survey the damage caused by the fire.

The Ministry of Agriculture said that, through the Algarve Regional Directorate of Agriculture and Fisheries (DRAP Algarve), it has, since last Friday, been “taking count of agricultural and livestock losses on farms” affected by the fire.

“At the moment, several technicians are assisting farmers in completing loss statements”, a note from the Ministry explained, though stressed that these statements “are not a formal application for any support that may be made available”, since the current procedure “does not dispense with the subsequent submission of a formal application”.

The Government has also indicated that it is already working on the application process for support measures, “since it wants to start the process as soon as possible”.

Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was among the dignitaries who toured the Algarve this past weekend in the aftermath of the fire.

Despite being famous for usually providing comfort in the wake of tragedy in the form of his famous hugs, there was little call for consolation during the President’s weekend walkabout of Monchique as de Sousa faced a barrage of confrontational criticism and calls for accountability over how the response to the fire was managed.



What could have caused the inferno?

Meanwhile, as the charred countryside seethes, several theories have emerged as to what may have caused the fire.

PJ police are probing whether a downed electricity line could have sparked the flames, aided by soaring temperatures and blustery winds. Others blame its lightning propagation on sprawling eucalyptus plantations – or the Algarve’s ‘green oil’, as it referred to by some – although the regional forestry producers have been quick to leap to the tree’s defence.

Close to half of Monchique’s 40,000 hectares of terrain – about 15,000 hectares of which is covered by eucalyptus - perished in last week’s inferno, plus almost another 10,000 hectares in Silves.

Updates for foreigners

David Thomas, founder of crime and safety prevention association Safe Communities Portugal, has praised Portuguese authorities for providing advice and warnings to help keep thousands of foreigners and tourists in the Algarve safe during last week’s fire.

He said regular updates from entities such as the National Civil Protection Authority (ANPC), which are available in English on Safe Communities’ facebook page and website, were of “vital importance” and reached some 80,000 people.

In comments to Lusa News Agency, Mr. Thomas acknowledged that “during a fire, it is always difficult to provide ongoing information because the situation can change rapidly”, but said he was “pleased” that accurate information from the Government was made available and updated information for the foreign community and tourists was “given in a timely manner”.

“That was very important”, he said, adding: “I was in the police force and dealt with crisis situations in other countries and there are always points that can be improved, but I want to make something very, very clear: this was a very complicated fire, with strong wind and changes of direction, humidity below 10 percent, ground-level temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, and the fire reached speeds of over two kilometres per hour.

“The important thing is that people were removed from their homes in time and, therefore, there were no fatalities”, he praised.

Last year, according to Portugal’s Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), fires destroyed over 440,000 hectares of land in Portugal.