Of the fires investigated, various types of controlled and unauthorised burning accounted for 37% of the total causes, while arson, attributed to specific individuals, was the second leading cause (17%), according to the provisional report on rural fires covering the period from 1 January to 15 August.

Reignitions caused nine per cent of the fires analysed, and 7% were due to machinery use.

Of the 6,388 rural fires recorded up to 15 August, 5,327 were investigated and have had their cause-determination process concluded—representing 83% of the total number of fires and accounting for 37% of the total burned area.

As of 15 August, the district with the highest number of rural fires was Porto (955), followed by Braga (610) and Vila Real (558); however, the district with the largest burned area was Vila Real, with 13,562 hectares (ha), approximately 24% of the total burned area, followed by Bragança (9,909 ha) and Viseu (8,325 ha).

The report indicates that between 1 January and 15 August, 6,388 rural fires occurred, resulting in 56,586 hectares of burned area, including forest stands (25,732 ha), scrubland (24,995 ha), and agricultural land (5,859 ha).

The municipalities of Valpaços, Mirandela, Águeda, and Vouzela saw the largest affected areas. Since the 15th, several fires classified as significant have broken out daily across the country, particularly in the north, with the fire in Torre de Moncorvo (Bragança district), which began on Saturday, being the longest-lasting and remaining active today.

The ICNF reports on its website that, as of today (the 19th), there have been 6,666 fires and a total of 63,347 hectares burned. This means that an additional 6,761 hectares have burned between 15 August and today.