The number of fires this year is the second highest in the last decade, and the area burned is the third highest since 2013, the Institute of Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) said on Tuesday.
The ICNF report states that 7,191 rural fires broke out between January 1 and September 30, burning 33,031 hectares (ha), including human settlements (18,888 ha), bushland (12,006 ha) and agricultural land ( 2,137 hectares).
“Comparing the values of 2023 with the history of the previous 10 years, it is noted that there were 43% fewer rural fires and 65% less burned area compared to the annual average for this period. 2023 represents until September 30, this is 2- 1st place in the number of fires and 3rd place in the area of fires since 2013,” says the preliminary report on rural fires.
Compared to the same period in 2022, this year there were 2,825 fewer forest fires and 76,661 fewer hectares burned, the document says, adding that over the past decade, fewer fires occurred in 2021 – only 7,108, and the area burned was lower in 2014 (22,372 hectares) and in 2021 (26,718 hectares).
According to ICNF, 84% of rural fires this year burned less than one hectare, with only four fires burning greater than or equal to 1,000 hectares.
The largest fires that occurred this year were Odemira, which started on August 5 and burned 7,513 hectares, and Castelo Branco, which also started on August 4 and burned 6,553 hectares.
The report also indicates that the areas with the most fires this year are Porto (1,450), Braga (673) and Viana do Castelo (590), but in any case they are mostly small and the areas most affected by fires are Castelo Branco with 7,433 hectares, about 23% of the total area, followed by Beja with 5,908 hectares (18% of the total area) and Faro with 2,652 hectares (8% of the total area).
According to ICNF, August was by far the month with the highest number of rural fires, with a total of 1,768 fires, and the largest area burned, with 22,034 hectares.
The report also explains the causes of the fires: 87% of the total number of fires reported this year have now been investigated and account for 97% of the total area burned.
According to ICNF, the most common causes of fires this year are burning and arson (40%) and arson (arson – explained) (28%).
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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