Marinha Grande, Portugal, April 27, 2026 (Lusa) - Carla pushes her bicycle on foot, laden with bags of pine cones and small firewood, describing herself as having a "broken heart", with her eyes fixed firmly on the ground as she cannot bear to look directly at the shattered trees of Pinhal do Rei, a historical national forest located along the coast of Portugal, in Leiria.

“I’m out gathering firewood, but my heart is broken, and I’m always looking at the ground,” said Carla Marrazes, 52, walking along the roadside near Gaeiras, a village in Marinha Grande bordering the Pinhal do Rei, also known as the Pinhal de Leiria.

Wearing gloves and with a saw fastened to her handlebars, she struggled with the weight of her bicycle, either staring at the asphalt or turning her face away to avoid the sight of thousands of mature pines uprooted or snapped by the force of the wind.

“It hurts so much. I had to close my eyes just now,” she said.

Having grown up alongside the forest, she recalled a happy childhood where the Pinhal served as the primary playground for local children.

She recalled how they used to turn dunes into slides using scraps of laminated wood, playing amidst giant trees that provided shade for everyone.

Saying that the forest had once belonged to the residents, she lamented the fallen timber, the destruction of the Portela picnic area and the decline in people visiting the area for running, walking, or picnicking.

Currently unemployed, she is gathering as much firewood and pine cones as possible, driven by the fear of a harsher summer ahead, with stronger winds blowing in from the coast that will no longer be held back by the forest, which will act as a barrier.

“Now we have to gather what we can because later there’ll be nothing left, and that really breaks my heart.”

“The pine forest provided us with so much: land, pine cones, twigs for the fireplace and for barbecues. It was part of our lives,” she said.

Despite the destruction, the sound of birdsong remains, yet she confessed she can no longer find the place where she once went to "feed her soul."

“We used to feel the air of the pine forest, the calm, nature itself. It helped clear our minds, recharge our batteries,” she said.

João Pedro, a 57-year-old, also described the scene as "desolate."

As a regular runner on the forest trails, he noted the total absence of shade for those wishing to walk or exercise, observing a few young pines that had resisted the storm and were beginning to grow, saying that while the forest might return to its former state in 30 years, it would not be in his lifetime.

By the roadside where João Pedro was walking, another local resident, Carla Almeida, was seen walking her dog, Felix.

She said that although people warned her to be careful because the dog could injure itself in the debris, she felt she could not deprive him of the forest, which he considers his home.

Looking ahead, she lamented the loss of shade, saying that most of the trees that survived the devastating 2017 wildfire had been felled by Storm Kristin.

Regarding the risk of future fires, she admitted to a sense of dread, saying that the residents know what awaits them, and found slight encouragement in the ongoing work to clear the forest paths, although she acknowledged that it would take a very long time for their forest to truly return.

JGA/MYAL // ADB.

Lusa