“A country like Portugal must have a fleet owned by the state, consisting of both light and heavy aircraft operated by an entity beyond reproach, called the Portuguese Air Force, so that we can have quality combat capability,” stated the social-democrat mayor to Lusa.
The Mayor of Aveiro also emphasized that “the country needs a profound, serious reform to finally end this chronic illness” of the “absolutely absurd and negative performance regarding fires.”
“We are the European country where this scourge is the greatest. Being one of the smallest countries in Europe, we face the largest problem,” lamented Ribau Esteves, advocating for a “total reform of the entities operating the so-called civil protection system,” particularly mentioning the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection.
Air resources, he noted, are crucial for a “quick reaction, the ability of the country to respond swiftly to flare-ups,” as a prompt response with land and air resources ends an ignition detected early more quickly.
“If it takes a day, two, three, or 10 days to mobilize aerial resources, for instance, as happened this summer, surely the only thing I’ll have is the fire’s growth, especially since we know well that land resources lack operational capacity in certain types of geophysical spaces,” he emphasized.
For the mayor, prioritizing prevention, the country must have “a reformed land combat system because many fire stations lack combat capacity and human resources,” and the municipal civil protection head, in this case, the mayor, must have command authority.
“It requires command capacity. And whoever is president must lead objectively. Therefore, the combat capacity needs a reform of the entire network we currently have because much of it lacks capacity,” he stressed.
The former president of Ílhavo also advocated for strengthening “punitive action against arsonists.” Besides restricting their freedom, he believes that these individuals must be “sentenced to take care of the forest to make it more resilient to fire.”
“This kind of legal framework is crucial to increase our capacity to discourage citizens from committing arson crimes,” he reiterated.
Reinforcing that local authorities play a vital role in prevention, in “pressuring landowners to clear their lands,” Ribau Esteves emphasized, however, that “it’s futile to have illusions” of achieving 100%, as “there are no resources available, no personnel for clearing, no tractors, no companies.”
In this context, he presented the previous government of Luís Montenegro with “a proposed action plan” — so far with no response – to have “the capacity to use administrative possession of minifundium parcels where owners do not do their work, have expectations of sale at very high values, and this obviously poses a fire risk.”
The mayor of Aveiro, who is not running in the next local elections due to reaching the three-term limit, also called for a new Local Finance Law, something ANMP has been advocating for years, to compensate municipalities like Sabugal, so that they can “equip themselves to protect, for example, their greater capacity for carbon sequestration, which they have more potential for than the more urban coastal municipalities.”
Mainland Portugal has been affected by several large rural fires since July, primarily in the North and Center regions. The fires have resulted in three deaths, including a firefighter, several injuries, some severe, and the total or partial destruction of primary and secondary homes, as well as agricultural and livestock areas and forest land.
