Algarve Fires Update

The Algarve fires of August 2003 made it a scary month for those visiting the region, but especially for those who own Algarve property.

Of course, in dry seasons and wooded areas, wildfires are not rare. But in August 2003 their scale and ferocity seemed to shock even the locals who staff the Algarve fire services.

No region could emerge unscathed from such a mishap, but the great news is that - so far as ecological recovery is concerned - already the fires in Algarve are just a bad memory.

Of course, it should be remembered that 18 lives were lost, and no recovery is possible from that...

In the mountains around Monchique, light aircraft and helicopters were used to fight the pine forest fires around Castelo Branco.

The Algarve fires and those elsewhere in Portugal cost the country some 1 billion Euros.

The fires also damaged the forestry industry, which is important to the national economy, and which lost a reported half-million acres of forested land.

But, while we weren't able to travel everywhere that we'd have liked during our recent holiday in April 2004, we did manage to capture some pictorial evidence that, in the Algarve, Nature has miraculous powers of recovery.

There was much evidence of damage to cork trees in the foothills and mountains...     But the burgeoning flora has covered the traces of most of the damage caused by the Algarve fires (as the top image on this page attests).

And some adjacent areas seem to have escaped unscathed!

These cork trees were only a few miles further up the road. (You can see where the cork bark has been harvested from the lower extremities).

While some sadness caused by the 2003 Algarve fires must linger, the great news for those planning an Algarve holiday is that the region is virtually back to its beautiful best!

So book your next Algarve vacation now, and do your bit to put the region's economy back on the rails!

In the meantime, subscribe to my free monthly newsletter, Algarve Beach Life News, by clicking on the link below ("For Lovers of Algarve Beach Life") or on the button at top left ("Subscribe to ABLN") -- I'll keep you updated, every month, about what's new on the site, as it's added.

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