Portugal :Firefighters association blames Politicians

Portugal :Firefighters association blames Politicians

LISBON: -- The story is the same each year. In summer, Portuguese firefighters tirelessly battle wildfires that scorch thousands of hectares of forest. According to EU data there are more fires in Portugal than in any other European country.

More than a third of the fires recorded between 2000 and 2013, in the Mediterranean region, occurred on Portuguese territory.

We have with us the president of the League of Portuguese Firefighters Jaime Marta Soares.

Euronews – Filipa Soares

Good afternoon. Why do we have so many fires in Portugal?

Jaime Marta Soares – President of the League of Portuguese Firefighters

For me, the problem lies in the mishandling of Portuguese forests. There’s no structural fire-prevention in the forests, which are mostly uninhabited. But the cities and the areas around the industrial parks are not even protected. If we add high temperatures influenced by the Mediterranean, very low humidity rates and atypical winds, and the forest that is itself the fuel, when left untreated, this leads to fires, and it makes our country like a continuous torch.

I blame the political powers responsible for this sector, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Secretary of State for Forestry, the ICNF (The Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forestry). They have effectively done nothing over the years to change the face of our forests.

 

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