# Rural Fires--Causes of Human Losses in the 2017 Fires in Portugal
## 4 Analysis of the 2017 Rural Fires in Portugal  
The June and October events killed a total of 117 persons and burned more than 200,000 hectares [14]. Both fires, despite being spatially and temporally differentiated, had in common erratic behaviour and destructive potential that had never been seen before in Portugal.  
The Pedrogao Grande fire will be remembered in the history of rural fires as it caused 66 fatalities (65 civilians and 1 firefighter), making it one of the most serious fire disasters in Portugal and one of the worst in Europe. It consisted of several events, the most critical being those that started in Pedrogao Grande and in Gois, which were associated with three other fires that consumed a total area of 45,328 ha [8]. This fire started on 17 June 2017 and burned for almost a week. In the first two days, almost 98% of that area was burned.  
At an impressive rate of approximately 3000 ha per hour, 8700 ha of shrubs, pines, and eucalyptus were consumed in the period between 19:00 and 22:00 h on 17 June. As a result of two main fire fronts joining, a firestorm developed, resulting in several episodes of extreme fire behaviour, with many fatal accidents [14].  
Following these fires, the Portuguese government created, through Law n\({}^{\circ}\) 49-A/2017 of 10 July, the Independent Technical Commission (ITC), with a mandate to carry out an independent assessment of those fires. At the same time, the government requested that the Centre for Studies on Forest Fires (CSFF-ADAI) of the University of Coimbra carry out a study on the conditions of the occurrence, initiation and propagation of fire, as well as the analysis of fatal accidents [8]. Both studies have similar conclusions, and they are complementary.  
The reports produced after this fire showed that the Portuguese Civil Protection warning system failed to inform citizens of the severity of the fire, and no evacuation actions were carried out by the competent authorities. Additionally, the populations were unprepared to reduce their risks in order to have an effective response.  
The October fire event was quite different from the one in June because of both the geographic dispersion and the dynamics of the fires. On 15 October, the meteorological fire hazard was classified as extreme for almost the entire territory of Portugal, with emphasis on the exceptionality of the wind speed component in the meteorological fire hazard system. This situation resulted from exposure to hot, dry air coming from the south, intensified by Hurricane Ophelia, combined with the severity of seasonal drought [15].  
Different ignitions on 15 October produced seven burning spots in a period of few hours that affected more than two hundred thousand hectares, practically covering the entire centre of Portugal, from the coast to the border with Spain; the largest fire in memory, before that year, had started in Vilarinho, Lousa, and covered an area of 45,505 ha [15; 16].  
In addition to the very large burned area, this mega-fire is considered unique in Europe because it was the first one of this order of magnitude that had occurred during the autumn season. On that day, more than 500 fires were registered, exceeding the response capacity of the Portuguese Civil Protection Agencies [15]. A total of 51 people died.