Portugal mourns victims as fires ravage nation and arson suspects detained

During a press conference on Thursday, the Minister of the Presidency, Antonio Leitao Amaro, stated that the decision to declare national mourning was made in agreement with Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

"This gesture is an expression of our nation’s solidarity with the victims of the numerous fires that have been raging for a week in the central and northern parts of Portugal," specified the government representative.

Between Sunday and Thursday evening, seven people died in the fires across Portugal, and 166 were injured.

Speaking at the conference, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Margarida Blasco, stated that in the last five days alone, nearly 366 square miles of forests and wastelands have burned in Portugal.

On Thursday, the police revealed that a large fire had been prevented on the outskirts of the city of Ovar, near a residential area situated by the forest. Investigations indicate that arsonists intended to start the fire by igniting fuel near one of the forest roads. The police confirmed they had seized two plastic canisters filled with a flammable substance.

By Thursday evening, over 80 suspected arsonists had been detained in Portugal.

In recent days, the Portuguese government has received much evidence suggesting that the forest and meadow fires raging since the weekend are often the work of arsonists.

Minister of Territorial Cohesion Manuel Castro Almeida informed the media that municipalities had sent many signals indicating human involvement regarding the circumstances of the fires.

"Many local officials who witnessed the fires reported seeing flames dispersed in several places, every 550 yards," said Castro Almeida, pointing to the criminal nature of such actions.

Since Sunday, almost 80 people suspected of starting fires have been detained across the country.

On Thursday before noon, the police captured a man who confessed to initiating a fire in the municipality of Albergaria-a-Velha, one of Portugal's largest fires this year.

"The arsonist is a previously unpunished 67-year-old pyromaniac who is a retired agricultural worker. He has at least three fires on his record," reported CNN Portugal, citing police sources.

There are also growing suspicions towards various groups that "have an interest in the occurrence of numerous fires in Portugal".

According to the ZAP portal, the potential beneficiaries of the fires in Portugal are companies offering firefighting helicopter rentals, timber firms buying cheaper wood, and paper producers receiving raw material from burnt forests at significantly reduced prices.