Burnings and brush fires were the main cause of wildfires that occurred on mainland Portugal up to August 15, according to the latest report from the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF).
Of the fires investigated, the various types of burnings and brush fires accounted for 37% of the total causes, while arson, by attribution, was the second cause (17%), according to the provisional rural fire report for January 1 to August 15.
Nine percent of the fires analyzed were caused by reignitions and seven percent by the use of machinery.
Of the total of 6,388 rural fires counted up to August 15, 5,327 were investigated and have the process of cause verification completed, that is 83% of the total number of fires, responsible for 37% of the total burned area.
By August 15, the district with the most rural fires was Porto (955), followed by Braga (610) and Vila Real (558); however, the district with the largest burned area was Vila Real with 13,562 hectares (ha) — about 24% of the total burned area — followed by Bragança (9,909 ha) and Viseu (8,325 ha).
The report indicates that between January 1 and August 15, 2026 there were 6,388 rural fires, which resulted in 56,586 hectares of burned area, including forest stands (25,732 ha), scrubland (24,995 ha) and agricultural land (5,859 ha).
The largest affected areas were in the municipalities of Valpaços, Mirandela, Águeda and Vouzela.
Since the 15th, several fires considered significant have broken out daily across the country, especially in the northern region, with the Torre de Moncorvo fire in Bragança district, which began precisely on Saturday, having the longest duration and remaining active today.
The ICNF indicates on its ‘site’ that to date, the 19th, there have been 6,666 fires and a total of 63,347 ha of burned area. This means that between August 15 and today, another 6,761 ha have burned.
