Forest fires that occurred in Portugal in the summer of 2003 were the most serious of the country's history in terms of burned area, intensity and human losses. While the 21 fatalities may seem small by some standards, they and the 21 accidents that caused them will affect the Portuguese fire service for years to come.

FIRE BASICS

The number of fires has grown regularly between 1978 and 2003, with an annual average of approximately 28,000 fires over the last five to 10 years. Nevertheless, the number was significantly fewer last year.

Conversely, over the last few years the average area burned was approximately of 100,000 hectares, but in 2003 the burned area was more than 430,000 hectares, four times the average value and double the acres of the previous worst year of forest fires in Portugal.

This serious situation was the result of a very dry period in eastern Portugal between May and September, following a rainy winter and spring with a mean rainfall greater than 50%.

Coruche

This accident occurred on June 19 in the district of Santarém. The victim was an 83-year-old shepherd who was tending to his flock at the bottom of a small valley. Unbeknownst to him, a fire had started 1km away. When he finally noticed the fire approaching he tried to remove the sheep, but the fast spread in the grass vegetation reached him and he had no possibility to escape.

Rochas de Cima

On July 29, in the district of Castelo Branco, a 79-year-old man was watching the propagation of a fire near his lands. Trying to move away from the fire, he moved toward a field where the fire was being fought by firefighters. He was trapped by the fire some 100 meters before reaching the field. It isn't clear if he was caught by the main fire front, a spot fire or a backfire.

Estreito

In this July 30 incident, also in the district of Castelo Branco, an 81-year-old man was driving by his fire-threatened property when the blaze appeared on the other side of the valley. He decided to take a forest road toward the main road. However the propagation of the fire up a canyon below the road was faster and he was stopped by the fire in front of him. Without an escape route, he stayed inside the car, which was destroyed by the fire.

Sobral da Adiça

On Aug. 1 in the district of Beja, a 67-year-old man was resting with a group of friends after a barbecue in a forest recreation area. At about 17:00 the group noticed a fire moving toward them and decided to run away. The man's physical condition didn't allow him to run away without help. When his friends called to him to leave the area, he stayed behind, perhaps waiting for help. He was caught by the fire that had a very fast development in the grass and dry shrubs. When the other men returned to find the man, he had been seriously burned; he died Aug. 6.

TWO DEADLY DAYS

While the fires spread throughout the summer days and months, Aug. 2 and 3 were particularly devastating.

Gonçalo

In the district of Guarda, a 71-year-old woman was at home alone when she noticed a fire spreading near her home at the bottom of a valley. She decided to leave the house in the direction of neighbors but was surprised by the quick fire spread. An air blow caused her to fall and she was unable to continue. She was burnt seriously when she was found and was transported to the hospital. She died on Aug. 14.

Pinheiro Grande

Lightning started a number of fires in Chamusca, in the district of Santarém. One of those fires occurred in Pinheiro. Two women, ages 35 and 67, decided to stay in their homes despite evacuation warnings. But when they saw the fire approaching they started to walk along the road trying to escape the fire. They almost reached a house that was not destroyed by the fire when they were caught by the heat and by the fire.

Casal de Paires

In the same region, two firefighters from Chile lost their lives. One was 43 years old and the other was 29. They belonged to a fire brigade working for a pulp company. This crew of 10 men had been working to protect a eucalyptus plantation when they were called to another region. On their way back to their vehicle, they had to walk about 6km in the direction of Casal de Paires. When they saw the fire, the chief ordered the crew to hurry, but two of them stayed behind the group.

At a certain point they found the road cut by the fire and they decided to take another road that went down in the direction of a valley. Unfortunately, this road took them to a place that was also surrounded by fire. They tried to go back but were unable to climb a small slope and reach a water basin that could have protected them.

Ponte de Sôr

In Santarém, a 52-year-old man and his son tried to create a fire-line break with a farm tractor on a small ridge. When they saw that they could not keep up with the fast-spreading fire, they tried to escape on the tractor. Due to the heavy smoke, they lost visibility and crashed it into a tree, damaging the right front wheel of the tractor. They continued on foot, but the man couldn't keep up with his son and stayed behind. The son went to find help, and he returned to find his father was severely burned.

Castelo de Vide

On Aug. 3 in the district of Portalegre, a five-person crew went to fight a grassfire in a small valley. A sudden change in the wind direction made the fire spread in their direction with a very high velocity. They had time to get away in the truck, but a 45-year-old firefighter who could not climb on the car tried to find protection near some rocks. He died from severe burns on Aug. 14.

Less than 1km away, a 48-year-old farmer was driving his tractor by a main road to fight the fire nearby. After passing a curve in the road, he was caught by the fire and the tractor started to burn. He jumped off the tractor into the flames and started to run along the road when a friend found him. He was taken to the hospital but died from severe injuries on Aug. 14.

Vilões

On Aug. 3 in the district of Castelo Branco, a 69-year-old woman who lived with her husband in an isolated house in the forest went to catch some horses that she had in a field. When she was coming back she was surprised by a fire 200 meters from her home. She dropped the reigns and tried to run away but she was caught by another fire front.

Moutinhosa

Two kilometers away, a 53-year-old forester was trying to organize firefighting efforts. He went downslope to try to fight the fire at the bottom of the valley but the fire was approaching on the other side of the slope with such velocity that he must have tried to return to the village. When he was climbing the slope, the fire reached him. He tried to escape in the other direction, but another fire front caught him.

HEAT WAVE

In August and September two heat waves occurred, with exceptionally high temperatures and very low relative humidity levels. The deaths occurred as a consequence of the intensity and fast propagation of the fires.

Penha de Águia

On Aug. 6 in the district of Guarda, a firefighter from the Castelo Rodrigo fire brigade died. This man was going to fight a fire that was spreading near Penha de Águia. He was driving a fire tank by a steep road when he lost control of the truck and fell downslope. The other firefighters were injured.

Aldeia do Bispo

Also in the Guarda district, on Aug. 7, a 39-year-old social service center employee was helping to evacuate the area's elderly. After that, she returned to help the firefighters protect the center building and the village, but the fire was spreading too fast and they had to retreat. She left to protect her own house, but on the way she was caught by another fire front from the other side of the slope.

Freixo de Espada-à-Cinta

On Aug. 7 in the district of Bragança, forest owners, ages 50 and 40, died when they went to observe a fire that was threatening their properties. The fire had started in a slope in the margins of Douro River covered by shrub vegetation and vineyards. The fire was being fought by the fire brigade of Freixo de Espada-à-Cinta, and it had been nearly contained in the bottom of the slope when the fire blew up. It climbed the slope and caught the couple 1km away.

Santa Cruz

On Aug. 23 in the district of Lisbon, a 69-year-old man was burning some debris in a relatively safe zone, an activity that is forbidden during the fire season. When he tried to control the flames, he fell into the fire area. The burn area was 30 to 50 square meters.

Abravezes

On the same day in northern Portugal, in the district of Viseu, a 78-year-old woman was burning some debris that she had placed near the forest. She was doing it in the early morning, as it was forbidden. When two men passed nearby, she hid behind some pine trees. The two men saw the fire starting and warned the fire brigade but said they hadn't seen anyone. In the meantime the fire had propagated through the shrubs and the old lady was caught by it. When the firefighters arrived the fire was easily extinguished and only a very small area had burned.

Monchique

This incident happened during the second heat wave that especially affected the south of the country. It occurred in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region. A 58-year-old man died Sept. 12. His property had been previously burned in 1995, so this time he had prepared everything to leave the house. When the fire neared he started to go in direction of his car, which was 300 meters from his home, but the fire was too close. He decided to go down a slope but the fire caught him there.

The 2003 Portugal wildfires produced 21 fatalities. From each one of these situations we can extract lessons related to fire and human behavior. Fire prevention and suppression agents as well as the rural population should consider these cases to improve personal fire safety.

Domingo Xavier Viegas is a professor and head of the department of mechanical engineering at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. He has a degree in mechanical engineering from the Instituto Superior Técnico and a Ph.D. in aerodynamics from the University of Coimbra. He is the coordinator for the Centre for Studies on Forest Fires, a member of the board of directors of the International Association of Wildland Fire and is on the editorial advisory board of the International Journal of Wildland Fire. His career is dedicated to the study of physical aspects of forest fires, paying particular attention to the analysis of the effect of wind and slope on fire behavior and fire safety.

The author wishes to thank his collaborators and all the people and institutions involved in the investigation of these accidents. The support given by the European Commission and the National Science Foundation to the research program that is being developed is also acknowledged.