All of rural Portugal is at risk of fire. The deadliest set of fires happened in June and October 2017 with a death toll of 111. We moved to Portugal well after that and were aware of the risks; but luckily for me, of all the things I lose sleep over, being consumed by a wildfire isn’t one of them.
Over the years of living at our property we were told that the area was never quite affected by fire; fire doesn’t go downhill; a nearby stream would protect us; oak trees prevent fires; and, that the airflow in our little topographical situation won’t let the fire get to us. All this turned to be, well, not quite correct. Also, turns out I knew fuck-all about fires.
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On September 16th we were aware of fires in the larger area, but deceivingly there was no smell of smoke; later in the day we were able to see a smoke plume in the distance and then a halo of fire at night, which seemed quite far. It was an unusually dry period with very low humidity, even for the typical dry summer.
I slept well until my worried partner woke me up in the morning after receiving calls from people asking if everything’s fine. The smell of smoke had arrived and the sky became increasingly murkier with occasional falling ash. We loaded the animals onto the car and started preparing a bag — I never did sort out that go-bag, damn it! Whilst we were doing that, more official calls started arriving from the Junta de freguesia, who strongly encouraged us to hurry up.
Then, the President of the Junta arrived in a truck with a gas-powered pump, water reservoir, fire-fighting hoses on its bed, and three more men. They told us that they came to save our house and that we should leave1. They asked for a phone charging point since they’ve been active for the past 24 hours, and need the juice to coordinate other fronts!
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I dropped my partner and the animals at a neighbor down the hill and raced back home. I arranged three garden hoses, cold drinking water, snacks, and we all started soaking the areas around the house. We siphoned water from our large water reservoir to supply the pump-on-a-truck (we aren’t connected to ‘city’ water).
Many areas in Northern Portugal are burning and the emergency services are stretched thin, with aircraft not able to be effective due to the smoke. It was clear by this point that fire-trucks aren’t coming and that their efforts are focused on dealing with the wider implications of the wildfire at strategic points, rather than at individual houses.
The ground fire slowly descended from the North, so we had a couple of hours to prepare for it. In the meantime two tractors with tanks and 100m hoses, usually used to spray grape vines, arrived to help. They were able to go further up the mountain through our terraces. The fire eventually arrived to a few meters from the house, from the North and the West, with alarming intensity. The primary effort was both to prevent an Eastern front, and to divert the fire Westwards where it will continue downhill to the stream. (Meanwhile the fire was burning on the opposite side of the valley towards the same stream.)
At some point I followed someone who took a fire-beater from the pump-truck and headed up the hill to try to prevent the fire from crossing a dirt road uphill towards the East. This approach was made difficult because fire is hot and smokey, but I was able to study the enemy up close. At the time I thought that I made a dent, only to take a breather and come back to the fire having crossed the road.
More people arrived and left throughout the day, coordinated by the President of the Junta, and did what needed to be done. For example, at some point the siphon wasn’t enough,so people used buckets to fill up the pump’s tank more quickly. Elsewhere, a young guy broke down a tall green bush and started beating the fire with it.
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At about 18:30 I decided to check our access road and extinguish any fire with the beater. It was smokey and as I was walking down the road I noticed a faint figure walking towards me. We both had our faces covered, and as we got closer we both realised who we were — it was my friend Pedro! We hugged. (I remember it as if it was a scene from a film.) Pedro was helping the community at the point where our access path meets the road to prevent the fire from crossing it.
The truck and men left later on at 19:00 after the fire was under control and the house was no longer in danger; they took a short break and moved on to help other properties. I walked with Pedro back to the house and we had a coffee and a chat. At about 20:00 I took him back to his car and picked up my partner and animals. We decided that we must stay at home to control any re-igniting fires, which was also what the Junta had suggested.
My partner woke up every 40 minutes that night to extinguish fires around the house, as they reignited. The system was to scan for fire spots and always water the ones close to the house; then, for the ones further from the house, remember their location and later check if they’ve died out or have become bigger, in which case try to get the hose there and drench them as well. During the night, a couple on a big blue tractor came up to the house to ask if we were fine. They reassured us that they were down the road in case of any emergency.
As the night progressed it seemed like things were under control, but when the sun came up it took a turn. At around 11:00 we were overwhelmed as reigniting fires attacked us from several directions. We called the President of the Junta who swiftly came with the truck, shortly followed by a tractor, and they took care of the larger fires. We were still controlling small spots the following night and day, but by then the air had started to clear and the following day rain had arrived.
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The fuel for the fire was fresh and decomposed leaves, fallen branches, dead trees, brambles, dried ferns, and all sorts of weeds that were left to grow for many years. It doesn’t look like the trees are dead, just blackened at their base… this makes sense because wild fires are a natural thing and if trees die because of them, we’d have no trees. Over the years we’ve been trying, unsuccessfully, to control ferns in the more remote parts of the land, but to our disappointment the fire burned them down without affecting their root system. Within a couple of weeks they were back. Tough things.
We were very lucky. The Junta could have decided to help another property if it was equally in danger; we hired someone to clean our property ten days before the fire; the fire could have been a canopy fire, rather than ground crawl, or both; it could have been windy enough to make the fire progress faster; we had enough water; the electricity was up to power the pump from our well; etc. In only slightly different circumstances we would have had to leave the house to the elements.
We were unprepared2. We knew little of how fire works, and did not have useful equipment such a gas-powered pump with firefighting hoses. There was difficulty for people and tractors to reach the elevated parts of the property in order to meet the fire earlier. For this, we’ve already broken a new path and are in the process of installing a 5000 litre tank at the top of our property that will be fed by a natural water source. This water will normally be used for irrigation, and for flooding the areas closer to the house in an emergency using only gravity.
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The kindness, care, and support of the community overwhelmed us, together with how naturally the help was given. It made us feel that we’re at the right place for us, and that we’re welcome and very much part of the local community. It’s such a good feeling!
The Junta has no power to force people to leave their home… only the police can do that. I later found out that I was allowed to stay because I was helping, not hindering, the efforts, and that’s why they hadn’t called the GNR on me :)
I don’t want to get into too much detail on this, but whilst we were following the fire regulations to the best of our abilities within the boundaries of our property, the neighbors to the North and West hadn’t cleaned their forests in decades (no houses there). Unfortunately, our house sits on the North-Western corner of the property, a few metres from the border, where the fire came the closest.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if this was a ground fire, it does seem the oak trees protected you after all. If you were surrounded by pine or eucaliptus, which are much more inflammable, I'm not sure you had been so lucky. Happy New Year!
Wow Saar, this sounds truly terrifying. I'm glad you guys made it through w/out losing your house. Your community sounds great there.