Civil Protection is conducting today an assessment of the Special Device for Combating Rural Fires (DECIR), in a year in which the burned area decreased by 72% and fires increased by nearly 6% compared to 2025.
Data from the portal of the Forest Fire Information Management System (SGIRF) indicate that this year 8,573 fires broke out, consuming 74,560 hectares.
According to the SGIRF, the year 2026 exhibits the fifth lowest value in the number of fires and the sixth highest burned area of the decade.
However, the number of fires increased this year, something that had not occurred since 2022, when 10,368 fires broke out.
The data also show that most ignitions with the largest burned area were due to arson, the use of fire (burning and slash-and-burn practices) and accidental causes, noting that 56% of the burned area was consumed on days of maximum fire risk.
The largest fires of the year occurred in July and broke out in the municipalities of Vouzela (Viseu), with 12,804 hectares burned, in Valpaços (Vila Real), with 11,619 hectares, and in Guarda, with 4,888 hectares.
The DECIR evaluation session this year will be chaired by the Minister of Internal Administration, LuÃs Neves.
