Lisbon, June 25, 2025 (Lusa) - The rural fires of 2024 caused 16 deaths, destroyed dozens of homes and businesses, caused €67 million in damage to forests and emitted 0.69 megatonnes of carbon dioxide, the highest since 2017.
The Integrated Rural Fire Management System (SGIFR) report for 2024 contains the data, and the Agency for Integrated Rural Fire Management (AGIF) delivered it to parliament and the government on Wednesdayy.
“With this knowledge and the readiness of material and human resources, communities achieved considerable efforts; however, they experienced 16 fatalities, dozens of homes and industries destroyed or damaged, and more than 135,000 hectares burned, with an estimated loss of €67 million, to which must be added the emission of 0.69 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, the highest figure since 2017,” the document highlights.
The 16 deaths, nine firefighters, four victims of burns and sudden illness, and three direct victims, recorded in 2024 reached the highest number since 2017, when 119 people died in the fires.
According to the document, the total economic loss, including materials (wood, resin, and cork), biomass for energy, fruit, and stored carbon, reached approximately €67 million last year, affecting 2.36 million cubic metres of wood.
AGIF reports that the greatest losses were in wood, resin and cork (€48.5 million), followed by stored carbon (€15.8 million), biomass for energy (€2.4 million) and fruit (€357,000).
The agency also reports that in 2024, rural fires resulted in the emission of 686,090 tonnes of carbon, the highest volume for the period 2018-2024, but still 11% below the average for the period 2001-2017, which was 717,557 tonnes.
Last year, authorities recorded 6,255 fires, representing a reduction of 17% compared to 2023, while the area burned reached 137,667 hectares, four times more than in the previous year.
The report stated that, during the entirety of 2024, firefighters recorded 92% of the total area burned in September, highlighting the need to strengthen mitigation strategies, especially in the face of extreme weather conditions that occurred in September and contributed to the high severity of the fires.
AGIF stresses that the total of 137,651 hectares burned in 2024 more than doubled the annual limit of 60,000 hectares set out in the PNGIFR (National Plan for Integrated Rural Fire Management).
The same report also noted that the concentration of burned area in September mainly affected the North and Centre regions, where 71% and 75% of the burned area, respectively, occurred on days with severe weather, in contrast to the lower severity observed in the other regions.
The AGIF said this data highlights the need for differentiated regional strategies, focusing on prevention and rapid response in the most critical areas of the North and Centre.
Contrary to what had been happening since 2018, arson stood out as the primary cause of the area burned, with the document indicating that investigations concluded arson was the cause of 84% of the area burned, i.e., an area of 84,242 hectares.
In this regard, AGIF suggests measures to “change behaviour” and “give priority to measures to prevent alcoholism, addiction and mental health problems, to control and monitor repeat offenders and to monitor behaviour, with visibility and deterrent capacity”.
"In social terms, arson causes 50% of the area burned in the north and 75% in the centre, once again requiring public authorities to focus on prevention and surveillance measures, with a stronger deterrent effect. On the other hand, the reduction in the number of incidents is lowering the perception of risk among both the population and decision-makers, which could require additional measures to maintain the priority given to rural fire prevention,” the report concludes.
CMP/ADB // ADB.
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