Well, we can finally breathe out. Autumn is here, and with it some good news: this year, wildfires have burned 72% less land than they did during the same period last year.
Today marks the end of Portugal’s highest fire-readiness period. Since July 1, the country has been protected by 15,149 firefighters, 3,463 vehicles and 81 aircraft and helicopters.
According to preliminary data from the Integrated Management System for Rural Fires (SGIFR), 74,267 hectares have burned since the beginning of the year. That is 72% less than during the same period in 2025. The number of fires, however, was actually higher: almost 8,000, up 9% year-on-year and the highest figure since 2022.
The north was hit hardest, with 44,046 hectares burned. In central Portugal, fires affected 22,587 hectares, while 5,389 hectares burned in Alentejo.
This summer also had its own anti-hero. In July, a court in Beja sentenced 40-year-old Moldovan national Mikhail Golban to four years and five months in prison. One August night, he allegedly used a lighter to set fire to overgrown vegetation near a care home on the outskirts of the city. It took firefighters four hours to put out the blaze, which burned around 3.7 hectares. The court also ordered his deportation from Portugal, although he will have to serve his sentence first. Cases like this are relatively unusual in Portugal, where forced deportations of foreign nationals are not common.
The summer was not without tragedy: a 24-year-old firefighter from Resende, in the Viseu district, lost her life.
From October 1, Portugal will move to the next level of fire readiness for 15 days. A total of 12,866 people, 2,857 vehicles and 67 aircraft will remain on duty.
A huge thank-you to everyone who spent this summer not by the sea, but on the front lines.
