# Rural Fires--Causes of Human Losses in the 2017 Fires in Portugal
###### Abstract  
Extreme wildfires are increasingly rising to intense and uncontrolled fires, with dimension and destructive potentials that are greater than what has been seen and dealt with. The hazards posed by these fires increase significantly when they approach the wild-urban interface, with relevant environmental and socio-economic consequences. The 2009 Victorian bushfires and the 2017 Portugal wildfires are powerful reminders, and they have demonstrated the need to better understand why mitigation plans have failed to protect the community in these events and to improve community resilience. The year 2017 is a milestone in the history of wildfires in Portugal, not only because of the vast burned area but also due to the high number of fatalities. The two occurrences were at different times (June and October) but were geographically close (region of centre of Portugal). A total of 117 deaths occurred in both events and 92% of the victims were in wild-urban interface areas. This paper analyses and discusses the characteristics and causes of death of the victims of these two events: age, place of death, distance from place of death to place of residence and last-minute choices to aim to understand the actions that people took in the face of the approaching fire, which led to their death. In both cases, most people died fleeing the fire without any information from the competent authorities. In the end, it is possible to identify risk factors that lead to the death of civilians due to wildfires, such as the increase in demand for rurality by young people from big cities with no previous contact with wildfires; on the other hand, there is the ageing of the population residing in forest areas, who were previously physically and structurally prepared to deal with fires and are currently no longer able to. wildfires; victims; Portugal wildfires; self-evacuation; risk factors 23220202024 December 4 December 2022  
interface problem is also an emerging problem, with increasing importance due to the various factors associated with it: the aggravation of forest fires, the population growth on the outskirts of large cities and the frequency of extreme risk events of meteorological nature [5]. A recent study reviewed the susceptibility and danger of forest fires in Portugal, introducing new data and extending the study period [4]. This study indicates that in Portugal, about 2% of the municipalities have more than 90% of their territories classified as dangerous, while 32% of the municipalities have, on the contrary, less than 10% of classified dangerous areas. Until 2003, rural fires in Portugal were known for the destruction of large areas of forests, causing mainly environmental and economic destruction (due to the loss of eucalyptus and pine trees) and occasionally causing property damage and loss of life (mainly the participants in fire combat). However, 2003 and 2005 were remarkable years due to the civilian losses. The loss of a high number of civilian lives as a result of forest fires is a recent reality in Portugal. The safety of populations at risk depends on accurate risk assessments, emergency planning and emergency management. After the fires in a 2009 event in Australia, where a high number of people died, it was concluded that, in some cases, non-prepared evacuation increased the risk of death in the population. The US and Australian governments carried out a review of public evacuations or alternative actions during rural fires and proposed measures for a rapid response of the population against rural fires [6]. Australia's Country Fire Authority (CFA) conducted a retrospective study of civilian deaths that occurred in the fires in Victoria. The investigation used the coroners' reports to determine the circumstances of each death. Many of the case studies illustrate the risk resulting from late evacuation and the poor understanding of fire behaviour.