Sparks luckily extinguished and firefighters retreated. The worst day

Henrique came from the neighboring village of Melres, in Gondomar, so as not to leave his 84-year-old mother to fight the flames alone. "I've always been near my mother's house, close to the active firefront," he told Observador on Tuesday night, during a time when he left the house only to get medication.

Like so many others, Henrique Oliveira was on foot, as the main road leading to the village was closed. Only fire trucks, police, and Civil Defense vehicles could pass by.

"I'm going to stay here with her overnight as a precaution. It has to be. She's 84 years old and can't be left alone. We have to take care of them," she says as she's already heading home, heading toward the fire that marked the day. The flames broke out in Penafiel around 9:26 a.m. but quickly spread to Gondomar, with the village being one of the most alarming, where dozens of homes were at risk.

Even so, it was not necessary to evacuate the population: those living closest to the active fire front were advised to stay at home, with windows and blinds closed, so that the smoke would not enter their homes.

The remaining residents, those whose homes were out of danger, gathered outside to watch the firefighters' work. Many couldn't take their eyes off the mountaintop, where a huge black cloud of smoke could be seen and the fire was consuming hectares of forest.

The lack of land clearing throughout the year is one of the issues they insist on discussing—they know the terrain well and have no doubt that it is one of the main problems, contributing to the faster spread of fires during hot weather.

"The owners don't cut the weeds. They could clear the land, but they don't. Then, of course, this happens," says Manuel Martins, who has lived in Melres for 70 years. "The state should force people to clear their land. There needs to be more oversight," he emphasizes. Nearby, another resident of this small town in Gondomar adds: "This burns every five years. We're scared. Every year it's the same thing."

The warning that it would be a difficult day in the field came early Tuesday morning from National Emergency and Civil Protection Commander Mário Silvestre, who gave the day's first update at ANEPC headquarters in Carnaxide: "It's the day with the most incidents in 2025." He also assured that authorities would continue "with their initial measures, responding to all incidents" that arose throughout the country. But that didn't make the day any easier for the firefighters or the general public.

And on the ground, Gondomar's mayor, Luís Filipe Araújo, observed how easily the wind carried sparks to other areas, creating the risk of new fires. For more than half an hour, a second fire even raged, which was quickly extinguished by firefighters.

"See? A spark fell right next to my house a while ago. If it hadn't been here, it would have been the same," one resident told Observador, adding that it was pure luck. "If it had happened here on the lot next door, where no one is, it would have been very dangerous," he added.

Reaching Folgosinho, a small village in Arouca, was also impossible on Tuesday night; only fire trucks could get through. The last four kilometers of road connecting the center of Arouca to this village were still burning in the early hours of Wednesday morning. In addition to the flames, trees and electricity pylons prevented any other means of transport from entering the area.

Firefighting teams concentrated for hours at the last intersection between Arouca and Folgosinho. There, they "let the brush burn" until the fire reached the road. The gigantic flames rising from the eucalyptus trees surrounded three sides of the intersection. Fire trucks and firefighters constantly maneuvered to avoid the flames. There was nothing to do but let the flames burn down to the road.

Dozens of cars from various fire departments from all over the country passed by, some coming from as far away as Leiria.

And when it was necessary to fight the flames there to contain their spread, one of the firefighters spent several minutes spraying water under the watchful eye of colleagues and civil protection personnel, until someone shouted from inside one of the fire trucks: "We have no water. Back off, back off."

The flames raged relentlessly throughout the day, and that night was no exception. "We've got a fire here until the weekend," one of those firefighters shouted.