The Critical Period
1st July to 30th September
About 98% of fire occurrences in Portugal have a human cause. If part of the fires are criminal and intentional, the other part is the result of our negligence and can be avoided.
DAILY FIRE RISK BY LOCALITY
KNOW HOW TO ACT IF YOU DETECT A FIRE IN OUR FORESTS
If you detect a forest fire, you should call the national emergency number - 112 or the National Forest Protection number - 117 or the fire brigade in your area.
Response time is crucial to ensure that the fire does not spread further.
Some of the actions to avoid, especially in the critical period:
- Do not throw cigarettes into the nature or out of the car window.
- Smoking is prohibited in forest areas.
- Do not operate agricultural machinery or any machine which may cause sparks during the hottest hours of the summer.
- Do not set fires inside forests or nearby.
- It is forbidden to use stoves and grills outside authorised places.
- Do not leave glass bottles in nature - glass can produce a "magnifying glass" effect and ignite the surrounding vegetation.
- Do not let children play with matches or lighters.
- It is forbidden to launch lighted balloons or fireworks. Authorisation from the Town Hall (requested 15 days in advance) is mandatory for the use of fireworks.
- It is forbidden to fumigate or disinfect apiaries, except if the fumigators are equipped with spark retention devices.
Remember:
- Clear forest roads accessible to emergency services.
- Create a protection strip around the house: manage vegetation in a 50 metre radius around the house.
- Maintain a strip with 1 to 2 metres of non-flammable pavement around the house.
- Ensure 10 metres around the house free from more inflammable vegetation, such as brambles or reeds. Choose vegetation which is more resistant to fire.
- Regularly maintain the canopy of trees in your garden. Remove the necessary trees, giving preference to felling sick or weakened trees, so as to leave a gap of at least 4 metres between canopies.
- Prune trees to 4 metres above the ground.
- Keep gas bottles, firewood stacks and other flammable substances more than 50 metres from the house.
- Clean roofs, gutters and wooden walkways of accumulations of grass, dry leaves and pine needles.
- Have fire extinguishers at home to control a small outbreak inside the house.
- Keep shovels, rakes and hoses handy.
- Keep access to the house clear to allow vehicles to turn around.
