Portugal’s inability to deal effectively with arsonists is explored today in an opinion column by the president of the Lawyers’ Order (Ordem dos Advogados).
João Massano suggests that it is the country’s failure to tackle mental health issues that has contributed to the rising toll of damage caused by summer wildfires.
“In 2024, 137,651 hectares burnt – four times more than in 2023”, he writes. “In 2025, up until July, 29,474 hectares have burnt, which is 6.7 times more (than burnt in the same period in 2024). More than half the blazes began at night…”
Fires do not tend to start naturally at night, unless due to an electrical short-circuit, which doesn’t happen in a forest setting. Ergo, people are starting these fires.
This is certainly the view of the mayor of Vila Real, which saw three fires start on Saturday.
“What we are witnessing is clearly an attack on our territory, after yesterday at 2:00 pm the first fire occurred in São Cibrão, which then moved to the neighboring municipality of Sabrosa; we had another at 8:00 pm between Mondrões and Torgueda and then at 11:00 pm we had this one here, in Sirarelhos”, said Alexandre Favaios on Sunday.
The fire that started in Sirarelhos spread to Gontães and Vila Cova, raging on three fronts and has already entered the municipality of Mondim de Basto.
“These (fronts) are clearly the ones that concern us most. What we ask is that the authorities, naturally, continue to do their job to punish those who, in any way, are jeopardizing our common home,” said Favaios.
And this is the point: punishment is not ‘enough’: João Massano believes authorities have to do a lot more than simple punishment. They need to organise “therapeutic accompaniment”, and probably ensure that people who have been caught lighting fires are electronically tagged through the ‘danger months’ of the summer/ early autumn.
“The reality of mental health is alarming”, he explains. “Studies show that 52.2% of arsonists suffer from mental disabilities: 39.1% from alcoholism; 17.4% from psychosis. They are mainly men (94.6%), unemployed and single.
“The Rehabilitation Programme announced in 2018 is still at an experimental phase (…) Portugal needs to have a specialised therapeutic accompaniment for mental health issues, as well as electronic tagging, to protect our forests”.
It may be, that after this summer, suggestions like this will be considered. Certainly, the damages this far (and there is so much more of the hot weather to come), are “incalculable”, according just to mayor Favaios who is still ‘on the ground’ overseeing firefighting in his municipality which is not being helped by strong winds.
Source material: LUSA/ Correio da Manhã
