Analyzing Portugal's Devastating Wildfire (Full Episode) | Witness to Disaster | National Geographic

I had not been in Portugal 6 months, when the first fire hit.
I was in Arrochela Pedrogao Pequeno.
Evacuated twice that year.
As we were leaving I was interviewed by Canadian Television news.
I knew what to expect when I moved here, but not on this scale.
My heart goes out to those that have lost a loved one.
And I continue to support the Firemen and women of Portugal.

My parents were scheduled to drive through that road at the exact time the fire swept through.
They were saved because a friend had called a couple of hours earlier inviting to a party elsewhere.
I still have shivers when I see the images of that damned day… never ever take your loved ones for granted ❤️

Almost 10 years have passed since this disaster in our country and ZERO measures have been taken from our government to mitigate eucalyptus spreading & mono culture the biggest threat to our population and native forest. its a matter of time until unfortunately something like this happens again if nothing changes!!

Woooow, I'm perplexed...... Who would have guessed that covering huge swathes of land with pyrophyte trees (trees that have naturally evolved to thrive in and spread fires) would go wrong...... I mean, it's not like Portugal has had wildfires every year since recorded history or anything..... What a shock.....

My heart goes out to all the direct and indirect victims of Portugal's yearly wildfires, whose lives or livelihoods have been destroyed because of the paper industry lobby, government corruption and neglect, and overall extractivism and profit-driven territorial planning.

Im from
Lisbon 🇵🇹 that was one of the most darkest days in history of Portugal ,rest in peace 😢for those who lost their lives in that horrible tragedy

So that people understand, in 2017, between April and October, it didn't rain a single day in Continental Portugal.

I am Portuguese, and it was with immense sadness that I watched this tragedy on television. The terrible situation of the inhabitants of those villages was shown daily on television. It was not easy to overcome this episode. Many still bear the "scars" and trauma of this event. My heartfelt thanks to everyone, to our courageous firefighters💪🏼, and to all others.

I'm just going to clarify something important... whenever it gets hot, a lot of less than human people will become arsonists. You can expect fires will happen whenever a heat wave shows up. It's the best excuse arsonists can exploit for insurance money or because they want to take those oaks down because it is illegal to cut them down. This last heatwave as expected, arsonists were to blame and were caught.

Some suspect companies were to blame as well, because this area with lots of ores can't be exploited because of conservation rules, and if there is nothing to conserve...

Sadly it's a yearly occurrence in my country...

This happen every 7-10yrs, what gives time for people and politics to forget. Several root causes never solved, several interests installed make sure this will happen again...

in october it was the same in that year 44 more people dead.. we dont forget

For foreigners, this happens in Portugal every year. Wherever there is a forest, it burns without control. The difference that year is that people died. Every year is roulette, always a tragedy waiting to happen

Todos os que morreram neste fogo, serão lembrados para sempre. 😢

Eycalyptus is also very damaging to the soil... it grows very fast, it consumes a lot of water and nutrients from the soil.. it "poisons" the soil.

Nine years later, still too painful to watch...

I'm portuguese and I live in Leiria... I witnessed all this horror...the sky turned orange and the ashes flyed km....😢😢🥵

Muito bom documentário. Acho que nenhum de nós o esquecerá, a minha família era para ter ido às piscinas nesse dia, mas a minha mãe teve uma crise de ansiedade que os levou a não ir . Abençoada ansiedade nunca tomem as vossas forças como fraquezas. Boa tradução para português hoje em dia é difícil encontrar uma tradução boa no YouTube. Que Deus e a nossa população olhem pelas nossas terras que prezamos e respeitemos . Que descansem em paz 🕊️ 🤍🤍

Later that same year, in 15 of October, 50 more people died from several wildfires. In total 115 people died in Portugal that year from the fires. Terrible year.

I remember hearing on tv about the fire, the whole country was in shock with such fire, it was horrified hearing and seeing

If you broadcast a global report that is on top in Europe, out of courtesy can you please at least write ALSO the degree in Celsius.

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