The director of the Judicial Police (PJ) of the Center, Avelino Lima, highlighted on Wednesday that most arsonists detained are “always responsible for more than one ignition.”
“We must bear in mind that many detainees we have presented to Justice are, in general, always responsible for more than one ignition. In other words, our work is directed towards the ignitions and not the extent of the fire, because that battle is not our responsibility,” he stated in comments to SIC Notícias.
Avelino Lima noted that this year, there was “a peak in ignitions,” but considered it necessary to emphasize that “the burned area, indeed, is beginning to be one of the largest in our history since 2017.”
The director of the Permanent Monitoring and Support Group for Forest Fires of the PJ detailed that the authorities operate throughout the year, seeking “to determine the initial point of the ignition, to understand if we are dealing with a deliberate or non-deliberate action,” through “the collection of all traces.”
Currently, the PJ has about a thousand active investigations, with around fifty detainees, according to the official.
This year, authorities have detained at least 52 people for the crime of forest fire, with nearly half of the arrests happening this August.
According to the information in PJ statements consulted, from January 1 to August 20, most arrests were made in coordination with the National Republican Guard (GNR), with 25 suspects apprehended this August.
The arrests made by the PJ result from ongoing investigations, but there are also 42 arrests in flagrante delicto by the GNR between January 1 and August 13, along with the identification of 566 suspects for the crime of forest fire.
Summarizing data from the PJ and the GNR, at least 94 people have been detained this year, almost as many as in 2024, when 99 arrests were made by the PJ, GNR, and PSP, according to the 2024 Annual Internal Security Report (RASI).
The GNR recorded 5,996 forest fires and, concerning cases under its competence—others were transferred to the Judicial Police—30.2% were caused by the use of fire, 24% resulted from arson, 23.2% had undetermined causes, 14.5% were accidental, 6.6% were due to reignition, 1% were natural cases, and 0.5% were of structural origin.
Regarding convictions and preventive measures, the Directorate-General for Reintegration and Prison Services (DGRSP) reported that 109 prisoners connected to the crime of forest fire currently reside in Portuguese prisons—42 convicted, 24 not accountable, 39 awaiting trial in preventive detention, and 4 awaiting the final decision.
Last year, according to RASI, 24 people were placed in preventive detention, and 859 defendants were constituted.
The fires ravaging Portugal have caused three deaths, including a firefighter, and several injuries, mostly minor. Additionally, they have completely or partially destroyed primary and secondary residences, as well as agricultural and livestock operations and forest areas.
Portugal activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism, under which two Fire Boss planes arrived to support firefighting efforts.
According to provisional official data, as of August 19, more than 201,000 hectares have burned across the country, surpassing the area burned throughout 2024.
