Residents of Albergaria-a-Velha tell of the fear and losses brought by a blaze that evoked memories of 2017 disaster
he fires are out in Albergaria-a-Velha now, their embers washed away by the heavy rain. But their reek still carries on the damp air, rising from the sooty earth, the scorched tree trunks, the burnt-out cars and houses, and the puddles of black and acrid water.
When she managed to reach the house two days later, she brought big bottles of water with her in the hope that dousing the trees’ roots would save them, especially her cherished linden tree, already a veteran of far too many wildfires.
“I put on some gloves and grabbed a shovel and threw everything that was burning out into the garden,” he says as he stands amid his charred loquat and citrus trees, his twisted bike and the melted remains of bottles. The only blessing, he says, is that the lessons of 2017 appear to have been learned. People in the area followed the safe villages plan, introduced in the wake of the tragedy seven years ago, which teaches residents to practise emergency drills and seek shelter in a designated local building, usually a church or chapel. That way the roads are kept clear and people are not burned as they try to flee in their cars, as happened in 2017.
“Sometimes people aren’t aware that forest fires are symptoms of some very structural causes that are down to socioeconomic reasons,” he says.
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