Fires can go off in Portugal due to lack of land clearance. A total of 25.45% of the Portuguese have not yet performed this service, which is mandatory by law. The number is considered critical, since the country is on orange alert due to the heat, with temperatures that can reach 40º.
The Ministry of Internal Administration also warned that in the coming days, Portuguese territory has the potential for occurrences of forest fires that are “difficult to manage” and that can become “almost catastrophic”.
The survey, carried out by FIXANDO, pointed out that the main reasons for the postponement of cleaning were the difficulty in finding a professional (40%), the lack of income (20%), the lack of availability (20%) and the impossibility of move to the site due to the Covid-19 pandemic (20%).
In addition, the lands that did not have this service are mainly located in the North (35.29%), in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo (35.29%), in Alentejo (17.65%) and in the Center (11.76%) and have an average size of approximately 4,900 square meters.
Mandatory to prevent the spread of fires, the fines for those who do not comply with the law are between € 140 and € 5,000, in the case of a natural person, and € 1,500 to € 60,000, in the case of legal persons.
“It is essential, because due to the pandemic we already have if we add a summer of fires as we have had in the past, it will lead to a catastrophe never seen before in Portugal. It is essential to clean the land and take care of ourselves and, of course, our community ”, said one of the respondents.
