Sernancelhe, Portugal, Aug. 29, 2025 (Lusa) - The Sernancelhe town council unanimously approved on Friday a series of complementary measures to support people affected by the fires, as well as a financial incentive for cleaning up the burnt area.
"Weve created a small incentive of €100 per hectare for landowners to removeand other material from burnt areas, so that there can quickly be an ecological renewal of that land, which is the sad scenario we have," said the mayor, Carlos Santos.
Among the support approved, the mayor of Sernancelhe also told Lusa agency that "food, such as hay and straw" would be given to those who have animals, including "feeding bee colonies".
Also in the agricultural sector, the municipality of Sernancelhe will allocate fertilisers, manure and other agricultural products, and will support the replacement of multi-annual plantations, as well as chestnut or olive trees affected by the fires.
In th e business sector, Carlos Santos highlighted “non-repayable support per number of employees, i.e. a small one-off incentive of €200 per employee” for companies or co-operatives.
The regulation approved today, said the mayor, is an "emergency response and measures to prevent and relaunch the economy, complementary to those that may be defined and set by the government".
"And its also a glimmer of hope that we want to give our residents," he emphasised.
The support is temporary and takes the form of a non-refundable subsidy that complements self-financing. It also includes a total or partial exemption from paying municipal taxes on an exceptional and temporary basis, not cumulative with other extraordinary measures.
"What worries us, and we're still going to see how we can help, together with the government, are the owners who depend 100% on the chestnut groves. Chestnut trees take 15 to 20 years to be profitable, and we have to find a solution so that they don't give up, but have a livelihood," he said.
The regulation, with 25 articles, will go to the Municipal Assembly for a vote on 12 September and the idea "is to avoid public discussion, because it"s an emergency and, if so, it will come into force the day after" it is approved.
The fire that reached Sernancelhe originated from two separate fires - one that broke out on the 13th in Sátão (Viseu district) and another on the 9th in Trancoso (Guarda district), which merged on the 15th, affecting a total of 11 municipalities in the two districts.
Sátão, Sernancelhe, Moimenta da Beira, Penedono and São João da Pesqueira (Viseu district); and Aguiar da Beira, Trancoso, Fornos de Algodres, Mêda, Celorico da Beira and Vila Nova de Foz Côa (Guarda district) were the municipalities affected.
The fire was put out at 22:00 on the 17th.
Mainland Portugal was affected by multiple large rural fires in July and August, mainly in the North and Centre regions.
The fires caused four deaths, including a firefighter, and several injuries, some serious, and totally or partially destroyed first and second homes, as well as agricultural and livestock holdings and forest areas.
According to provisional official figures, by 23 August, around 250,000 hectares had burned in the country, more than 57,000 of which in the fire that started in Arganil alone.
IYN/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
