Presidential candidate António Filipe expressed sorrow on Saturday over the death of former Vila Franca do Deão mayor Carlos Dâmaso, who was fighting a fire, while pointing to “failures in political guidance.”
“In light of the serious situation the country is experiencing with forest fires, I first want to mourn the death of our fellow citizen Carlos Dâmaso while battling a fire on his family’s property and send heartfelt condolences to his family and friends,” he wrote on the social network X.
He also expressed his “solidarity with firefighters, security forces, mayors, other civil protection agents, and the population who fight tirelessly, with the means they have, against this scourge that threatens the lives of people and animals” and causes “massive property and environmental damage.”
António Filipe noted that “despite the recommendations made to political leaders following the terrible fires of 2017, the structural causes contributing to the extent and severity of rural fires have not been altered.”
“Policies leading to abandonment and desertification of the interior of the country persist, no protection and support measures for the rural world and family farming are taken, and no land and forest management measures are implemented. The consequences of this neglect are once again visible,” he continued.
The presidential candidate also noted that “despite the efforts of all those fighting” the fires, “the detected failures in political guidance and the provision and coordination of available combat means are evident.”
“Operational discoordination, inoperability and underestimation of the importance of aerial means, or the late triggering of international aid requests, have revealed a political direction of the national effort to combat the fires that deserves strong censure and requires serious accountability,” he pointed out.
António Filipe stated that as a presidential elections candidate, it is his “duty” to speak “clearly and frankly about this issue and demand accountability from those who have the duty to assume it.”
Em face da grave situação que o País está a viver em matéria de fogos florestais, quero em primeiro lugar lamentar a morte do nosso concidadão Carlos Dâmaso no combate a um incêndio em propriedade da sua família e endereçar sentidas condolências aos seus familiares e amigos, e…
— Antonio Filipe (@AntonioFilipe) August 16, 2025
Portugal has been hit by forest fires for several weeks, with the North and Center regions being the most affected.
In two days, 64,160 hectares burned
According to information provided by the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), between January 1 and August 14, 74,931 hectares had burned, a number that rose to 139,091 by today’s date.
This data reveals that in just the last two days, 64,160 hectares have burned, accounting for 46% of the total burned since the beginning of the year.
The forest fires have consumed up to today 139,000 hectares, half of which in just two days, representing 17 times more than the area burned in the same period last year, according to preliminary ICNF data.
Lusa | 11:54 – 16/08/2025
Alert situation ends this Sunday
It should be noted that the state of alert, which was extended by the Government last Thursday, ends this Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
Portugal has been under alert due to the risk of rural fires since August 2.
The Minister of Internal Administration stated that the “adversity gives no sign of letting us go yet” and therefore the government has decided to extend the alert situation due to fires until August 17, Sunday.
Márcia Guímaro Rodrigues | 19:02 – 14/08/2025
