In a statement, the Ministries of Agriculture and Fisheries and Internal Affairs explained that, “considering that the weather conditions of recent months have limited the periods available for carrying out work” on fuel management in the secondary network, “the deadline for clearing brush and land” has been extended until 15 June.

“During this period, the carrying out of cleaning and fuel management work remains subject to the rules set out in Decree-Law 82/2021, of 13 October”, especially “on days with a ‘very high’ or ‘maximum’ rural fire danger level”, the note adds.

In these cases, the ministries of José Manuel Fernandes and Margarida Blasco emphasize that "the work may only be carried out with prior authorization from the municipal civil protection authority, upon request with the location and planned schedule of the actions", and as long as they comply with the established safety conditions.

Thus, the work "may only be carried out by entities with economic activity codes (CAE) identified in the annex to the decree-law", "support vehicles for work without machinery must have an additional fire extinguisher with a minimum capacity of 2 kg" and, in work with machinery, "the defined safety measures must be applied" and "equipment with spark retention devices and operational fire extinguishers" must be used.

In addition, the ministries emphasise that "burning is prohibited", "burning requires prior authorization", the work "must, whenever possible, be carried out during the cooler hours (morning or late afternoon)", and it is "mandatory to ensure means of surveillance and first intervention on site during the work".

Appeal to landowners

"The Government appeals to all property owners, management entities and other responsible parties to clean their land as quickly as possible, always taking safety conditions into consideration, especially on hot days", the note reads.

The extension of the deadline for property owners to clean forest and agricultural land around buildings and infrastructure, as requested by industry associations, was published in the Official Gazette of the Union, through a joint order from the Secretaries of State for Civil Protection, Paulo Simões Ribeiro, and Forests, Rui Ladeira.

The order amends a previous order, from April 16, which determined that work on the secondary network of fuel management strips could take place until next Saturday.

The decision was made after consultation with AGIF - Agency for Integrated Management of Rural Fires, Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), National Republican Guard, Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) and Infrastructures of Portugal.

The management of fuel strips in forest lands around buildings, infrastructures and settlements, provided for by law until April 30, aims to prevent rural fires, but the National Federation of Forest Owners' Associations (FNAPF) asked the government for a "month and a half" extension to the deadline, due to weather conditions.

Given the difficulties in hiring companies to carry out cleaning, particularly due to a shortage of labor and limited equipment, the FNAPF and ANEFA - National Association of Forestry, Agricultural and Environmental Companies considered the deadline for carrying out most of the work to be insufficient and requested more time before the authorities begin monitoring non-compliance and enforcing infractions.

The president of the FNAPF, Luís Damas, told Lusa that he had once again asked the Government to extend the deadline until at least mid-June and, given the decision to extend it until June 15, he was satisfied and commented: "At least we have this additional 15-day window."