The (large) historic forest fires in mainland Portugal

Abstract

Large forest fires are not a new phenomenon in Portugal, and there are historical records of their occurrence, but since the 1960s, with global changes and the profound transformations in the country, they have increased in frequency, size and intensity, becoming relatively common in the 1970s. Although there aren’t many written documents relating to forest fires in Portugal prior to the 20th century, we present, chronologically, some accounts that illustrate the occurrence and geographical distribution of large fires in mainland Portugal, as well as the appearance of the Mega fires.