Portugal is once again battling a devastating fire season that underscores the country's chronic vulnerability to wildfire. By late July, almost 2,700 firefighters were deployed to contain 17 major blazes across the country, with fires in municipalities like Trancoso threatening homes. This follows Portugal's worst fire season on record in 2017, when over 500,000 hectares burned and more than 120 lives were lost. The intensity of recent heat has been extraordinary, with mainland Portugal recording its hottest ever temperature of 46.6 degrees Celsius in late June, contributing to 284 excess deaths during the heatwave.

While climate change intensifies the threat, Portugal's wildfire crisis stems from deeper structural problems rooted in forest ownership and land management. The country's forests are overwhelmingly privately owned, with 85% consisting of small private holdings, 93% of which are less than 10 hectares in area. In northern and central Portugal, most forest holdings are less than 0.5 hectares.

This fragmented ownership, combined with rural depopulation and absentee ownership, has created vast stretches of neglected forest where undergrowth accumulates unchecked. Many landowners are absentees, and there was historically no comprehensive land registry to identify them. The danger is compounded by Portugal's extensive eucalyptus plantations, introduced for the pulp industry. Eucalyptus covers 845,000 hectares, or 26 percent of forests, and burns particularly quickly.

The Economics of Fire

The current system creates a profound moral hazard: forestry profits remain private while firefighting costs—both financial and human—are shouldered collectively. Portugal spends millions annually on emergency response, yet landowners face minimal consequences for failing to maintain their properties. This represents a massive subsidy to the forestry sector, particularly eucalyptus plantations that generate profits for paper companies while imposing fire risks on surrounding communities.

Many small landowners, particularly elderly or absent owners who inherited fragmented plots, lack the resources or knowledge to properly maintain their land. However, this challenge doesn't negate the need for systematic solutions—it highlights the importance of state intervention when private ownership fails to serve public safety.

Laws Without Enforcement

Portugal has laws requiring landowners to clear their property before fire season begins, but enforcement remains weak. Local authorities, often underfunded and overstretched, struggle to inspect thousands of scattered small plots. Community groups have had to step in to identify over 250 plots and around 80 owners in single municipalities, revealing the scale of the administrative challenge.

Penalties for non-compliance are rare, creating a system where the same lands burn repeatedly, the same fast-growing species are replanted, and the cycle continues. Breaking this pattern requires more than public awareness campaigns—it demands structural reform.

A Path Forward: Enforcement and Transformation

Land maintenance obligations must be enforced consistently and without exception. When owners fail to act, the state should intervene directly, clear the land, and recover costs through liens on the property. This approach, while requiring initial investment, would create genuine incentives for compliance while addressing the public safety crisis.

High-risk areas should be closed to new eucalyptus plantations, with large existing stands gradually replaced by native species such as cork oak, oak, and chestnut. These species are not only more fire-resistant but also support greater biodiversity and can provide sustainable livelihoods through cork production, nuts, and eco-tourism.

Landowners willing to diversify should receive comprehensive support through tax incentives, grants, and technical assistance. The transition period requires careful management to ensure rural communities aren't economically abandoned.

Local Success Stories Point the Way

Portugal already has examples of successful community-driven fire prevention. In villages like Ferraria de São João and Casal de São Simão, residents have replaced eucalyptus with native fire-resistant trees in 500-metre buffer zones around their communities. These local "protection zones" demonstrate what's possible when communities take control of their fire risk.

Such initiatives should be replicated nationwide, supported by state funding and technical expertise. Community land management can be more effective than top-down enforcement, particularly when residents have direct stakes in the outcomes.

Technology and Transparency

A strengthened National Forest Registry, monitored by satellite technology, could map compliance and species distribution in real-time. Making this data public would create accountability while helping communities understand their local fire risks. Modern monitoring technology makes comprehensive oversight feasible in ways that weren't possible when many of these policies were first written.

The True Cost of Inaction

The 2025 fire season has again demonstrated that Portugal's wildfire crisis is not a natural inevitability—it's the predictable result of decades of policy that has allowed monoculture profits to trump public safety. The human and economic costs continue to mount: lives lost, communities displaced, tourism disrupted, and vast amounts of carbon released into the atmosphere.

Without decisive action, Portugal will remain trapped in its annual cycle of heat, smoke, and loss. The country possesses the knowledge, technology, and examples of local success needed to break this cycle. What it requires now is the political will to prioritize long-term safety over short-term profits and to transform a forest system that serves the few at the expense of the many. The alternative—accepting permanent vulnerability to catastrophic fire—is simply too costly to contemplate.