Under the searing sun of Beira Baixa, Maria Almeida, 62, swings a rake across her olive grove, her brow furrowed with worry. Portugal’s new wildfire crackdown, enforced by the National Republican Guard (GNR), demands landowners clear undergrowth by June 1 or face fines up to €5,000. For rural families like hers, scraping by on modest harvests, the penalty feels like a punch to the gut. As a heatwave looms, the push to prevent devastating fires is pitting survival against safety in Portugal’s countryside.

The rules, born from the 2017 Pedrógão Grande fires that claimed 66 lives, require a 50-meter cleared buffer around homes to starve wildfires. Last year, flames scorched 143,313 hectares, mostly in the north, killing nine and razing homes. The GNR’s inspections, now in full swing, see officers like Felizardo in Coruche trudging through fields, pointing out overgrown brush. “We’re here to protect, not punish,” he told a farmer, his voice calm but firm. A soggy spring delayed clearing, but with temperatures climbing toward 40°C, time’s running out.

For Almeida, the fines are a looming shadow. “I can’t afford a crew, and my back’s not what it used to be,” she said, wiping sweat from her face. Portugal’s wildfire crisis, fueled by climate-driven heat and eucalyptus trees that burn like kindling, is Europe’s worst, with 93,731 hectares burned yearly from 2009–23, per the European Forest Fire Information System. The government, stung by past tragedies, has boosted prevention funds tenfold since 2017, with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro vowing action. “Cleared land saves lives,” a GNR spokesperson said, stressing prevention over penalties.

But rural communities feel squeezed. In Aveiro, where 2024 fires gutted homes, some see the logic. “My neighbor’s cleared land stopped the flames,” said Carla Mendes, a shopkeeper. Others, like João Silva, 70, a retiree facing a €3,000 fine, feel betrayed. “The government should help, not hit us with fines,” he said. The EU’s Copernicus system reported 1.4 megatonnes of carbon emissions from 2024’s fires, a climate alarm bell. Subsidies for fuel management exist, but red tape slows access.

The challenge runs deeper than fines. Experts like Francisco Ferreira from ZERO urge replacing eucalyptus with native oaks to slow fires. “We need forests that don’t explode,” he said. Rural depopulation leaves plots untended, worsening risks. The government’s €5 million fund for municipalities aims to ease the burden, but trust is thin. Can Portugal enforce rules without breaking its rural backbone? Will prevention outpace climate change? For now, Almeida hacks at weeds, hoping to save her grove—and her savings—from both fire and fines.

Read Full News