Figueiro dos Vinhos, Portugal, April 24, 2026 (Lusa) - Figueiro dos Vinhos and Pedrogao Grande councils in Portugal's central Leiria region, among those worst affected by Storm Kristin, have permanent teams clearing forest roads two months before the critical fire season.
Despite help from the army, Figueiró dos Vinhos council expects only 70% to 75% of the 264 kilometres (km) of forest tracks and roads to be passable by the start of summer.
Neighbouring Pedrogão Grande expects to finish its clearing work by late April with support from the national civil protection and the ICNF (Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests), a public body that manages nature reserves.
Figueiró dos Vinhos has cleared more than 100 kilometres of the 264 kilometres of destroyed and unpassable roads and forest tracks so far, the Mayor, Carlos Lopes, told Lusa on Friday, three months after storm Kristin.
"We have the army, from the Espinho Engineering Regiment, giving great support and trying for the last 15 days to do this cleaning and clearing work, because some roads were completely blocked," he said.
Work involves a council team, specialised forest firefighters and three soldiers from the regiment with a bulldozer and a levelling machine, which will remain in the area until May.
"With this support guaranteed for April and May, we think we can complete a significant part of the clearing, though there are areas we naturally cannot reach," he said.
Carlos Lopes said he expects 70% to 75% of the 264 kilometres of forest tracks to be passable before the critical summer months.
Without the ministry of defence’s help, the task would be huge and “practically impossible with council resources,” he said.
However, the mayor noted that removing wood from the land is more complicated and the council lacks the resources to do it.
"If the landowners are not encouraged and if there are no incentives to make them aware of this need, the council, once again, will not have resources to collect all this biomass," he said.
The mayor lamented, that there is no annual “structural, large-scale intervention” to anticipate critical fire seasons, instead of “always playing catch-up”.
He said that if Storm Kristin had not hit so hard, there would probably not be such a concentration of effort two months before the fire season, despite problems existing before the storm.
The neighbouring Pedrógão Grande council has cleared 250 of its 360 km of forest roads and expects to finish by the end of April.
The council keeps three teams on the ground, totalling 22 workers. This includes 15 specialised forest firefighters from the ICNF and National Civil Protection Mayor Joao Marques said he was sceptical about removing woody material, calling it an "impossible task to complete by the end of 2026 without help from the landowners."
"We are warning owners to remove the wood because the council cannot do it, especially with the current labour shortage," he said. He is waiting for the OIGP (Integrated Landscape Management Operations, a state-funded forest management programme) to provide support for removing the material.
AMV/LYT // AYLS
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