Between January 1 and October 15 this year, authorities investigated 8,640 forest fires.
In 5,627 cases “it was possible to determine the cause”, say reports – putting ‘of human origin’ down for 63% of wildfires tackled in Portugal so far this year.
Of this number, arson appears to have been responsible for only 29% of cases. In all, fires destroyed 41 622 hectares of forest land and scrub.
